And some club-step for you all to close.
[Video][Myspace]
[6.14]
Iain Mew: Flux and Example both tone down their approaches for each other. The results are never remarkable, but I’m enough of a sucker for 16-bit melancholy, synth-string flourishes and Example’s gloomy philosophical rapping to enjoy it regardless.
[6]
Anthony Easton: Stabbing strings, like domesticated and ever so slightly becalmed Bernard Hermann reworking a cabaret jazz line stolen from Brell. I love it.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: Chiptune-step! And the chiptune sounds authentically like it could have been a Maniacs of Noise composition, so big points for attention to detail. As much as I’ve warmed to Example, I’m thinking that while he’s proved he’s a good fit for the computer game sonics, the strings and layers of lushness on top make him sound more oafish than urgent. That makes “Daydreamer” an inviting mixed bag, and I’m not sure what context I could find it anything other than kind of neat — it’s not easy to dance to, and it wants for the intensity of, say “Midnight Run” or “Changed the Way You Kiss Me.” I guess that makes it impressive as an effort but unremarkable as a track.
[7]
Brad Shoup: Tons of treble, an 8-bit harp figure — what’s not to love? The sloganeering.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: Nobody planned this, but “Daydreamer” pairs nicely with “Day Dreaming.” First, invent or continue an affair with nothing but string melancholia and percussion skitters; the segue to synth-harp cascades, lyrical nothings and boss-fight bosh is easy. Both escapism, and both’ll lose you for hours.
[7]
Jonathan Bogart: Is this the Chemical Brothers moment, the Orgy moment, or the Fatboy Slim moment?
[4]
Alfred Soto: A pedantic vocal mixed too high ruins an electronic track whose permutations keep turning in on themselves. It shimmers, crunches, builds, and shimmers some more.
[7]