Good Years At Juno Download

Review: Arriving on fledgling UK label Good Years, Jim E-Stack's debut EP arrives on a flurry of internet chatter following the release of a bootleg remix of A$AP Rocky's "Purple Swag". It was a reworking that mixed the woozy quality of The Weeknd with the lush analogue textures of Jacques Greene, and quite rightly pegged him as one to watch. "Come Between" opens the EP; combining staccato piano stabs and purple-tinged pads with a clattering rhythm, tumultuous snares and a keen sense of snap, it's nicely complimented by a smooth male vocal sample that keeps just the right side of the current zeitgeist for R&B sampling. "3rd Soul" is similarly rich, combining a taut synth line with steel pan melodies done in a way that recalls Jamie xx's "Far Nearer". Closer "Lemme" opens with a sparse drum beat and insistent vocal snippet; it's certainly the most dancefloor focused track of the three, but no less bright, climaxing with an elastic neon synth that gives the production the required amount of warmth to make it as memorable as the others.

Review: London's Good Years have stuck gold here with a potential pop smash from the (impossible to Google) Utrecht. Who knows, maybe it actually is the whole German city behind this record, but whoever's done should be very pleased with themselves indeed. The original is a perfect example of where urban bass culture meets classic retro house-pop; a rolling, clap-heavy funk beat is accompanied by deep sub-bass rumbles and silky soul vocals in the style of Prince or Jamie Principle. Meanwhile, the club mix takes the same melodies and whips them up into a perky frenzy of piano stabs and garage rhythms.