Gerry Read - U Got No God Damn Groove

  • Published
    Oct 11, 2013
  • Words
    Resident Advisor
  • Label
    4TH011
  • Released
    October 2013
  • Genre
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  • On his sprawling debut album, Jummy, and a slew of singles on Fourth Wave and its parent label RAMP, Gerry Read found what he was good at—8-bar loops with artfully battered surfaces—and stuck to it. While there's nothing wrong with his brand of Parrish-worshipping house, you generally know what you're going to get with a Gerry Read record. So while his latest release, again on Fourth Wave, doesn't deviate wildly from that blueprint, there's a greater refinement of Read's take on retro house. He slots a "You got no God damn groove" vocal sample neatly around a funky bassline and grimy kick, effectively thumbing his nose at his own track title. About halfway through, everything but the sample is muted. The snare pattern comes to the front of the mix, a jaunty melodic loop enters, and we're once again immersed in the inexorable groove. "Rubber Hands" is more functional, with synths and kicks that sound as if they've been coated in mud, but "Andy's Asteroids" displays a kind of insouciance—a lack of concern with the needs of the dance floor. There's a strong groove, buffeted by stippled woodblocks and wonderfully gaseous hiss, but it fades in and out, seemingly at the whim of its creator.
  • Tracklist
      A U Got No God Damn Groove B Rubber Hands
RA