Damu - Holed Up In The Hovel

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  • You'd be forgiven for thinking we'd heard the last of Damu. The Manchester producer had his biggest success in 2011, culminating with his debut album, Unity. That record's hybrid sound was tied to its era, or perhaps to one already past, drawing on the bubblegum melodies and tweaked house rhythms of late-'00s post-dubstep. In 2015 Damu is back with some pretty convincing new ideas. 2013's self-released "If You've Got Nothing To Hide," Damu's only intervening solo release, felt like a stepping-stone towards this colder, more angular style. But where those two tracks were built around dull UK house rhythms, Holed Up In The Hovel turns to recent interpretations of grime for inspiration. In embracing this new sound, Damu takes the good with the bad. "iPolice" is excellent, its sci-fi synth squiggles forming liquid shapes over the requisite bass stabs and lacerating claps. "Whirlybird" leans on a more stable rhythm, but its detuned synths are smeared with equal glee. As ever, Damu's touch is deft. Elsewhere, however, he falls into a trap that occasionally snares contemporary operators like Mumdance. The title track shoots for ever-increasing amounts of weirdness but ends up with something turgid and disjointed. "No Pain, No Gain," meanwhile, thrashes around without ever quite getting anywhere.
  • Tracklist
      01. iPolice 02. Whirlybird 03. Holed Up In The Hovel 04. No Pain, No Gain
RA