Following his feted 100% Galcher mixtape and an EP for White Material, Galcher Lustwerk has struggled to capitalise on his cult success. A workmanlike EP for Tsuba fuelled suspicions that the mixtape might have been the best possible format for this New Yorker's music. D.W.B. isn't quite the comprehensive follow-up statement Galcher fans have been hoping for—for one thing it appears under another name; for another, it lacks his honeyed vocals. But these seven tracks, always good and frequently gorgeous, will reassure the faithful.
Released under the alias Road Hog, D.W.B. is titled in reference to the racial profiling of black drivers in the US (the joke is that "driving while black" is a criminal offence). Insisting that the EP is "made for the car," Lustwerk seems to be depicting the road as a site of racial discrimination, a vent for social tensions ("The FUCK Outta My Lane") and a means of escape from such tensions all at once. It's knotty subject matter for a producer known for nicely-nicely deep house. Then again, perhaps Galcher's music has always had an element of social critique, its evocation of bygone summers not an idle nostalgia exercise so much as a tactical withdrawal from the ugly realities of life.
This in mind, it's difficult not to hear the melancholy in these tracks. The likes of "Mirage" and "Got A D.W.B." roll on and mournfully on. The latter eventually drifts away in a haze, reflecting the meditative mindstate of a long drive. Elsewhere tracks fade out slowly, or pensive synth lines hang in the air long after drums have departed. Only occasionally is the zone-out disrupted, as in the friskier "Dines Rd." "Freedom"'s perky groove ends things on a brighter note, but there's still something incurably forlorn about those Galcher chords. You're left wondering just what sort of freedom is being discussed, and whether it can ever be attained.
Released under the alias Road Hog, D.W.B. is titled in reference to the racial profiling of black drivers in the US (the joke is that "driving while black" is a criminal offence). Insisting that the EP is "made for the car," Lustwerk seems to be depicting the road as a site of racial discrimination, a vent for social tensions ("The FUCK Outta My Lane") and a means of escape from such tensions all at once. It's knotty subject matter for a producer known for nicely-nicely deep house. Then again, perhaps Galcher's music has always had an element of social critique, its evocation of bygone summers not an idle nostalgia exercise so much as a tactical withdrawal from the ugly realities of life.
This in mind, it's difficult not to hear the melancholy in these tracks. The likes of "Mirage" and "Got A D.W.B." roll on and mournfully on. The latter eventually drifts away in a haze, reflecting the meditative mindstate of a long drive. Elsewhere tracks fade out slowly, or pensive synth lines hang in the air long after drums have departed. Only occasionally is the zone-out disrupted, as in the friskier "Dines Rd." "Freedom"'s perky groove ends things on a brighter note, but there's still something incurably forlorn about those Galcher chords. You're left wondering just what sort of freedom is being discussed, and whether it can ever be attained.
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Published /
Thu / 4 Sep 2014 -
Words /
Angus Finlayson -
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Tracklist /
01. Mirage
02. The FUCK Outta My Lane
03. Got a D.W.B.
04. Abuse These Streets
05. Dines Rd.
06. Miles Away
07. Freedom
San Francisco
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