

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 -
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
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