- At least where his rhythms are concerned, Chicago's Ike Release has traveled some way since his first tracks for Infrasonics a few years ago. His early work's fidgety, garage-infused flex betrayed a clear UK influence, all crisp percussion in well-defined, neatly-swung formation. By comparison, his recent releases for MOS, under both his own name and the Innerspace Halflife pseudonym, have been straighter-laced, with ponderous, dusty basslines tied to an anchoring four-to-the-floor pulse. One common trait his music has displayed throughout, however, is a keen ear for melody, with thick lashings of the stuff poured out across its surface.
On the Dream Sequence EP, melody again plays the leading role. "Cosmic Supreme"'s gauzy synth harmonies are strong enough presences that they propel the track along, nearly overpowering an ever-present drum machine chug in the basement. The slightly soured harmonies that course across the surface of "Spells" twist outward into dissonance just enough to set the nerves on edge. "Westview" allows all that tension to dissipate with poise and precision: it coasts into view in a mesh of muffled drums and static crackle, before a great shimmering sea of melody swells to fill the mix. It's as though the track itself were taking a deep inward breath.
Tracklist A1 Cosmic Supreme
A2 Spells
B Westview