Pinch - Retribution

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  • The last time Pinch appeared on Swamp 81 it was a game-changer: "Croydon House" signaled not only a massive shift in direction for the Bristol producer but also the bass music scene in general. Fast forward a year and a whole lot of interesting goings-on in the Pinch world later, and he returns to Loefah's imprint with his best original work since... "Croydon House." "Retribution" carries all the violent force you'd expect from that title, taking the twisted thicket of breakbeats from "Croydon" and throwing it on top of a snake pit of searing basslines. Pinch taps into an aggression here that feels decidedly pre-dubstep, some imaginary forgotten post-jungle tangent forever quashed by the rise and fall of garage. It feels both ancient and ineffably modern, held down by its extreme bleakness, and the track's sudden descent into bottomless silence only raises the adrenaline factor. Things are taken even darker with "Get Out of Here," falling on an incredibly powerful thud in the weirdest spots, like dubstep slowed down to an unnatural tempo and left to wallow helplessly in its own irregular limp. The squalls of sub-bass let out are the stuff of Plastic People nightmares, a hellish vision of FWD>> playing out in all the wrong ways. I'm tempted to ask what's got Pinch sounding so pissed off these days, but with tracks like these maybe it's best not to bother him.
  • Tracklist
      A Retribution B Get Out of Here
RA