- Joey Anderson's unique house style can produce bold results—think the burbling evil of "Above The Cherry Moon" or the weepy "Press Play." But it's equally suited to subtlety and ambiguity, and After Forever was content to lurk in the shadows. Its follow-up is just as unique—the New Jersey producer's agile, oblique melodies are unmistakable. But it's more extreme in mood, and all the better for it.
At one end of the spectrum is the album's nocturnal A-side. The title track, a cloud of static crackle and chilly synth, opens on a subdued note. On "Organ To Dust," the titular instrument turns graceful pirouettes over a patient kick-tom-kick groove. (Were this After Forever, Anderson might have detoured into a wildly different melody partway through, but here he keeps his focus.) The pinprick pads on "Reset" recall "Press Play"'s stargazing melancholy, though the bassline underneath adds a shiver of threat.
The latter half of the album swings in the opposite direction; Anderson has rarely made bangers this mind-melting. On "Amarna" and "18 Arms," synth lines buzz like hysterical insects, pinned in place by ten-ton drums. Then there's "Nabta Playa," whose dissonant snatches of melody are sprinkled over a hi-speed groove, and the restless, droning menace of "Beige Mantis."
The album ends with a return to the softer side. On closer "Blind Light," another one of those buzzing-insect synths is soothed by artful piano chords and Detroit pads. It's as if one half of the producer's yin-yang is winning out over the other: a simplistic drama, but Anderson handles it with his usual flair.
TracklistA1 Invisible Switch
A2 Organ To Dust
A3 Reset
B1 Tell Us Where
B2 Amarna
C1 Nabta Playa
C2 18 Arms
D1 Beige Mantis
D2 Blind Light