- Dubbing your newest release Tried and True is a little bit like naming your movie What's the Worst That Could Happen? Critics love this sort of thing: you provide an easy opening and leave the possibility of a…ahem…tried and true closing.
The six tracks on Alland Byallo's latest for his own digital-only Nightlight Music imprint, however, only rarely merits the invocation of cliché. Byallo's two contributions ('Tried,' 'True') utilize the same general template and sound bank, but each have a different tenor: 'Tried' builds from a desolate landscape to a psychedelic squiggle-bass climax, while 'True''s energy never reaches much higher than its downcast sighing synth.
There are four remixes here. Lee Curtiss' reworking of 'True' is inevitably the best, as he differentiates himself by choosing to foreground a previously buried melody for the mix's entire length. Unhurried and self-assured, Curtiss modulates the rhythm just enough to keep things interesting and makes an anthem out of what was once an exercise in sound design.
Otherwise, though, you're left with the relative similar takes that Jason Short, Kenneth Scott, and nutownproject offer up. Too bad: upbeat, melody-rich tech is, well, you know... And that's not always such a good thing.
Tracklist01 Alland Byallo - Tried (Original Mix)
02 Alland Byallo - True (Original Mix)
03 Alland Byallo - Tried (Jason Short Remix)
04 Alland Byallo - True (Lee Curtiss Remix)
05 Alland Byallo - True (Kenneth Scott Remix)
++ Beatport Exclusive: Alland Byallo - Tried (nutownproject Remix)