Outboxx - Astro Girl

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  • Over a handful of singles and EPs, largely on Bristol labels like Immerse, Idle Hands and BRSTL, the duo of producer Jacob Martin and keys player Matt Lambert have established a sound that's warm, sunny and rich in detail: never particularly thrilling, but certainly never dull. They return to Immerse for this three-track single, sticking fairly close to their original house-inclined mission statement, though at points flirting with a more electro-leaning palette. On the A, "Astro Girl" is clearly angling for the most club play, with a bulbous, Bashmore-esque bassline providing the heft under its shuffling percussion. The main focus, though, is obviously the keys: cosmic background widdling at the opening gives way to a killer piano hook. Development comes from yet more lavish keys-work, layer-upon-layer of the stuff: lush at points but often a little too ornate, too detached from the atavist thump that sustains even the most soulful house music. On the flip, "Back to Phalon" and "Dolph's Vision" tread similar boards—the cosmic sense of space, the minute details like vapour trails in a clear blue sky. The former is the strongest of the lot, its mean NY-ish bassline rumbling along at a leisurely 110 BPM. The latter dabbles most blatantly in electro stylings, though its whipcrack kick/snare grid manages to feel just as laidback as the rest. Still, there's a sense that these tracks are a little too filled in, every crevice smoothed over with Lambert's lugubrious ivory-tickling.
  • Tracklist
      A Astro Girl B1 Back to Phalon B2 Dolph's Vision
RA