Beneath - Schlocky

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  • Beneath seems like an ideal artist for Berceuse Heroique. They both share a knack for heaviness that verges on the abrasive, and they both cherry-pick ideas from various genres without ever sounding like one thing. Schlocky continues where the track "WIP," Beneath's last appearance on Berceuse Heroique, left off, serving up four variations on his lumbering take on UK dance music. Each track on Schlocky gets its own side of vinyl, and the EP is built on basslines that sound like they're trying to shake the needle out of the groove. Two of the tracks reinforce Beneath's typical sound: "Future Shock" is classic Beneath with its wobbly kick drums and dubbed-out horns, but the quaking low-end and repeating vocal sample are extra threatening. "Freeze," meanwhile, takes one of those dark Keysound-style rollers and slows it down so that every drum lands with purpose. The other two incorporate acid into Beneath's brew: on "50/50," squelchy leads pile up like sludge, while "Soho" adds a 2-steppy skip to the equation. Like the rest of the EP, they offer subtle variations on the Beneath formula that are different enough to keep them interesting.
  • Tracklist
      A1 50 / 50 B1 Freeze C1 Soho D1 Future Shock
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