Holly Waxwing - Peach Winks

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  • Holly Waxwing is the production alias of Garrett Crosby, a Birmingham, Alabama producer who helps run the increasingly interesting Noumenal Loom imprint. And while he may be another male producer regrettably taking on a female name, the music is good enough to (almost) look past that. His first tape for the label, 2013's Goldleaf Acrobatics, showed a developing sound somewhere between Ryan Hemsworth and PC Music: cute and brightly coloured, and marked with an emotional streak that made it almost grandiose. On Peach Winks, he sharpens his approach and ramps up the cuteness. Just like his recent mixes, the record looks beyond genres like trance and Eurodance for inspiration Take "Chalant," which marries clicks & cuts-style minimalism with the kind of clammy synth basslines you'd find on mid-'80s Kate Bush records—it's vaguely housey, though it's so fragmented that the focus is on the details rather than the rhythm. "Sochi Girls" puts Crosby's scalpel to work on vocal samples, cutting phrases into microscopic pieces. The relentless cheeriness is undercut by vaguely trappy hi-hats that lurk beneath. "Peach Winks" comes the closest to PC Music aesthetics, with its chipmunk vocals and pitchbent synth sounds, while "Vibe" sounds like a children's TV show theme. Even these two are detailed and complex tracks that pack plenty into a mere few minutes. Part experimental club record, part sound design showcase and part style exercise, Peach Winks has a lot to appreciate.
  • Tracklist
      01. Chalant 02. Sochi Girls 03. Peach Winks 04. Vibe
RA