- The brothers Lawrence put together a reliable if unusually conservative mix that focuses on the loopier side of house.
- Disclosure have spent the last five years trying to peel themselves away from the pop chart domination that was, arguably, almost their undoing. Their gradual return to sample-heavy house grooves has been uneven but occasionally brilliant. This culminated in a run of five tracks meant to mark the return of dance floors in London, finding the duo in an inspired and functional place, with a hunger hardly heard since their early days.
They take this energy to their DJ-Kicks, the brothers' first-ever commercial mix, which seems designed to prove their DJ bona fides and pays no mind to their crossover past. "The mix should represent where we're at now," the duo say, "and where we're at now is clubby." The result is an hour-long session that bridges the gaps between UK festival stages, tech house mega-raves and underground clubs, but this in-between zone leaves the mix feeling a little sleepy, as if the duo were on autopilot.
Everything starts off swell: Pépe's "Recollection" is an attractive ambient intro that leads into the jazzy strut of Harry Wolfman's "LOTF," which is full of those clipped, glossy melodies that Disclosure have made their own. But everything just kind of shuffles on from there, each track introducing new micro-melodies and subtle effects, as if the duo were afraid to launch into something that might distract from the steady simmer. It's not until &on&on's magnificently bouncy "Don't Say A Word" that we get the mix's first real hook: a spoken word line that rides the synths like a leaf carried on the wind. It's the kind of simple but effective chemistry that the best Disclosure tracks are made from.
Another major moment comes from the Lawrence brothers themselves in "Observer Effect. It's easily one of their best-ever instrumental tracks, down to the fake ending that would absolutely cause havoc in a packed room. But instead of building off that tension, the duo merely saunter back into the same unhurried jog, before finishing with the lovely ambient jungle of "Recognize" from Arfa x Joe (not that Joe), a flicker of something different before the mix sputters to an end.
There are other highlights. M-High's "Harmony In The Distance" is uplifting if not hopelessly cheesy, like if B12 tried their hand at Kerri Chandler-style garage, while the inclusion of Slum Science's 2005 cut "Mezmerized" is a stroke of genius. "Mezmerized," with its short, jabby samples and hypnotic groove, exemplifies everything Disclosure are about, and does it just as well as them. It's a clear antecedent to the sound that made them superstars. Had they focused more on this era of UK tech house—and paid tribute to it—this DJ-Kicks could have been something special. Instead, it's just fine, a perfectly listenable hour that brings to mind a lot of what-ifs. It doesn't capture the sugar rush of their biggest performances nor is it some edgy return to the underground. Instead, it's somewhere listlessly in between, claiming no new ground other than the middle.
Tracklist01. Pépe - Recollection
02. Harry Wolfman - LOTF (exclusive)
03. Cleanfield - Conflict With Clayton
04. Disclosure - Deep Sea (exclusive)
05. Simon Hinter - Wanna Make Love
06. &on&on - Don’t Say a Word
07. M-High - Harmony In The Distance
08. Slum Science - Mezmerized
09. Disclosure - Observer Effect (exclusive)
10. East End Dubs - bRave
11. Onipa - Fire (Disclosure Edit)(exclusive)
12. Arfa x Joe - Recognise (exclusive)