- Andy Stott’s exploration of four on the floor dub continues with this excellent EP. ‘Fear of Heights’ is slow house at its finest and will make you want to either dance very casually or sit and nod your head appreciatively. It’s like Burial but without the sinister claustrophobia or Theo Parrish but without the disco. Indeed, Stott is best described by what he isn’t because he makes tracks that communicate carefully muted emotion with as few elements as possible, a mission he accomplishes here very well.
‘Fear of Heights’ is the slower of the two tracks. Melancholy, spidery and reverbed stabs sprinkled over a simple beat kicks things off before precision hi hats and the occasional pop work their way in. Towards the middle the bass and drums take over but it’s hardly pumping, instead maintaining a pleasurably glacial cool. At the end the melody returns, but even though it’s only using two notes, the effect is optimistic and quietly content. The only frustrating thing is that this feeling only lasts a few bars.
‘Made Your Point’ is tougher in that the hi-hats are aggressive and insistent enough to keep people on their feet. Having said that, it is still primarily a bass affair and the steely sounds and clinically exact arrangement recall the stripped down dubstep of the likes of Scuba. It’s more shimmery and reflective than ‘Fear of Heights’, but equal in terms of quality.
A fine EP, and another great release on the increasingly essential Modern Love.
TracklistA Fear Of Heights
B Made Your Point