Leibniz - Rat Life 10

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  • When German artist Leibniz first appeared in 2013, his self-titled debut was a promising amalgam of classic and experimental dance floor music. But over the years, his weirder tendencies have normalized a bit—the wildest his lo-fi house might get is when it's overly distorted and laced with breaks. A recent collaborative EP had some groovy fun with those ideas, even if some of it was a bit run-of-the-mill, and his first solo record for the Dresden label Rat Life also aims for that sweet spot of old-school sounds and carefree energy. In overestimating its charm and underplaying Leibniz's most interesting qualities, the EP misses the mark. These three tracks are full of bravado, which could make them work for the right crowd at the right time. For everyone else, such mindless tenacity makes their run of clichés grating. "Bat" is big, dumb hardcore techno that's actually fun at first. But it lasts for nearly seven minutes and never finds an interesting corner to turn. "Uzi" is an unflattering hip-hop simulacrum, landing in a murky valley between Zelda, Zomby and old Trap-A-Holics mixtapes. (The sampled rap shouts in the background have rarely sounded so limp.) The aptly titled "2 Simple" veers close to Dirtybird's brand of bass-loaded house. On it, Leibniz makes ample use of the Woo! Yeah! break, which, like most of this record, should be put to rest.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Bat B1 Uzi B2 Simple
RA