- After hardy lo-fi techno for First Second Label and a more colourful collection of studio jams for 1080p, the analogue duo Minimal Violence went surprisingly deep and smoggy on their last release, Rapids: The 2015 Sessions. Ashlee Lúk and Lida P. take a fluid approach to making music, so their debut for Lobster Theremin could have gone any number of ways. The title gives it away, though—acid features on all but one of Acid Lakes' tracks.
"HMV 94," the track without acid, is a dreamy junglist send-up. That might sound like it wouldn't belong, but it gives the record a discontinuity that's strangely fitting. Along with "Untitled Workout" and "Acid Lakes," which are bluesy counterparts to its uplifting brightness, "HMV 94" presents Minimal Violence's emotive and melodic side. Synths cry out with yearning in "Untitled Workout," while there's something more foreboding in "Acid Lakes." But, in both tunes, the dynamics between the mood, drum programming and acid nodes feel disconnected. "Can't Stop Loving You" and "Now!," the best vintage dance floor jams on the EP, are better balanced. The first is ravey and the latter jacking, but both are bombs that trade experimentalism for fun and functional club fare.
TracklistA1 Untitled Workout
A2 Can't Stop Loving You
A3 HMV 94
B1 Now!
B2 Acid Lakes