- Leon Vynehall's music has all the calling cards of the UK's new house sound: pitched-down R&B vocals, melodically-driven structures, a certain post-club sweetness. But his productions have always had a crustiness to them, a taste for sonic grot and clotted swing that wards off the anodised feeling common among his peers.
As such, Vynehall has the potential to go to interesting places; unfortunately with his third EP he seems content with treading water. "Untitled 017" tempers its muscular thump with over-warm pads, while tinny snippets of vocal and a messy hi-hat overlay don't quite succeed in bringing the weird. "Title #7" is more striking, taking the now familiar formula for a contemporary UK house banger and turning it on its head. Everything's fuggy and just slightly off centre, but the edge of menace found in, say, "Gold Language" is sorely missed. Vynehall follows the contour of his last Well Rounded Housing Project release by finishing with a woozy slow-jam. Intriguingly, "Rosalind"'s string-like pads and lethargic bump recall the fuzzy hypnagogic hip-hop of Cupp Cave and Dynooo more than anything found on UK dance floors. With any luck this is our man preparing to leap off into the unknown.
Tracklist A Untitled 017
B1 Title #7
B2 Rosalind