- Those scrying for new talent in 2015 would've been wise to start with Lifted's debut LP. Since its release, one of the ensemble's lesser-known members, Joe Williams, has released a blinding album as Motion Graphics, and this debut EP from Jeremy Hyman is almost as good. With his tangy FM melodies and slanted house grooves, Hyman is closely related to the artists around him: whether the experimenters on Max D's Future Times roster or the skewed digital pop of Motion Graphics (who mixed Couch) and another Lifted member, Co La.
But Hyman's music cuts its own path through this bright, kitschy world. Each track starts as an arrangement of odd sounds held together by glistening melody: on "Couch," congas and sour bells, on "Occupy Crawlspace," fuddled percussion and what sounds like a wilting clarinet. After a few minutes, a kick drum enters to pull these kitchen sink arrangements into a firmer house orbit. From there, we ride out a wave of jubilant energy. "New Edition" twists the formula slightly. There's a skittish energy to its sample loops, and the kick drum enters earlier before giving way to a bizarre breakdown, where synth chords wobble across the stereo field like blobs of mercury in a petri dish.
TracklistA1 Couch
A2 Occupy Crawlspace
B1 New Edition