- Holland duo June Miller have been getting increasingly experimental with their drum & bass records for labels like Horizons, Inside and Buried Audio. That said, their debut on Modulations, a sub-label of Critical, is more aggressive and straightforward than anything we've seen from them recently, and they only improve in these tighter confines.
Ruthless and ferocious, at first glance "Snapcase" is your typical muscly Critical track bulldozing its path with a sleek palette, but the duo throw an almost Rockwell-calibre level of detail and melodic digression into their high-octane funk. It's not terribly original, but it's done so convincingly it's easy to get pulled into its manic panic. On the other side of things, "Walls of Jericho" takes those jumpy drums and diverting basslines, and colours recklessly outside the lines. Starting out with theatrical horn overtures and Hollywood blockbuster sound effects, it feels a little overblown -- but white-hot basslines arrive, bringing storming drums with them. This is textbook tear-out, but in the best way, as though the drums are out of control and stomping on everything in sight. I'm usually not one to encourage bass music producers to head in louder, angrier directions, but it turns out a screwface is a pretty good fit for this duo.
Tracklist A Snapcase
B Walls of Jericho