Dave Huisman achieves impact through subtle means, presenting his ideas with confidence and knowing when to let empty space sing. Night Owl, Huisman's first EP on Trilogy Tapes, borrows the nocturnal psychedelia of 2013's After Hours, but in an altogether more abrasive package. This EP confirms what After Hours hinted at: some truly twisted things can happen when the sun goes down.
Dread pervades "Fortress (The Hague, 2005)." The rhythmic contortions never lose their center, while a vocal sample slaps its way through the energetic jumble. Similar unease appears in "Caustic Network," with an acid line that resists pressure like a wobbly footstool and ominous organ tones drifting in gradually. "Kovaxxxt" is the likeliest to get played out. It has bursts of static making a percussive statement before riding out chintzy waves of brass.
Still, the haunting standout is "Situation," a textural assault at 140 BPM. A vocal moans behind oppressive hi-hats, but when that sample morphs into recognition as David Bowie—"I really don't understand the situation"—the effect is, frankly, thrilling. The brief moment of intelligibility is in stark contrast to what came before and, at that moment and for the duration of the song, you feel like Bowie's confusion is your own.
Dread pervades "Fortress (The Hague, 2005)." The rhythmic contortions never lose their center, while a vocal sample slaps its way through the energetic jumble. Similar unease appears in "Caustic Network," with an acid line that resists pressure like a wobbly footstool and ominous organ tones drifting in gradually. "Kovaxxxt" is the likeliest to get played out. It has bursts of static making a percussive statement before riding out chintzy waves of brass.
Still, the haunting standout is "Situation," a textural assault at 140 BPM. A vocal moans behind oppressive hi-hats, but when that sample morphs into recognition as David Bowie—"I really don't understand the situation"—the effect is, frankly, thrilling. The brief moment of intelligibility is in stark contrast to what came before and, at that moment and for the duration of the song, you feel like Bowie's confusion is your own.
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Published /
Thu / 10 Apr 2014 -
Words /
Aaron Gonsher -
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Tracklist /
A1 Fortress (The Hague, 2005)
A2 Caustic Network
B1 Kovaxxxt
B2 Situation
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