Steve Summers - Lucid Fingers

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  • Jason Letkiewicz is the sort of artist who revels in techno's anonymity, picking up a new name and a new game whenever it suits him. He churns out funky house as Malvoeaux, and explores analog Detroit darkness as half of Two Dogs in a House. Letkiewicz's third EP under his Steve Summers guise showcases a devoted exploration of the sound first pioneered by Larry Heard in 1986. In fact there's enough of a soundalike factor that at times it smacks of lost tapes from Heard's bottom drawer. All your favorite first-wave Chicago tropes are in full effect: The warm caress of an analog bubblebath, those crunchy drums, those silvery synths, the flurries of handclaps, melodies whose roll and wobble bear that human-played soul. Title cut "Lucid Fingers" has a strong dose of punchy snare rushes and melodic trade-off between plinks and pads, and its follower "Deep Necking" is a close cousin. While both A-siders are adroitly cut, the record's second half is arguably stronger, where Jason/Steve allows himself a bit more breathing room. A dark turn is taken on "Seeing Things," which true to its name invokes an android plagued by Casio-colored hallucinations, plonky 8-bit riffs fighting off spectral strings and some unholy circuit-skronk. And the standout "What Do You Think You Feel" encapsulates why the record is a success: It doesn't turn towards classic sounds in order to follow in their footsteps, but in order to feel the same pulse, the same dreamy tug on the heartstrings.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Lucid Fingers A2 Deep Necking B1 Seeing Things B2 What Do You Think You Feel
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