- Jerome Sydenham's been a busy man of late. Already five EP's in to 2009—two of them on his new label Apotek—with countless others under his variety of pseudonyms, ongoing collaborations and remix works left and right, he's definitely found his own personal groove in the studio. Being in the groove mentally, though, doesn't always mean you're in the groove sonically.
The title track of the new EP from Sydenham, "My Pet Gorilla," is clearly meant for the big rooms. Remarkably boomy and simplistic in design, it reeks of being phoned in, replete as it is with Radio Slave knock-off chord stabs. One can only take so many looming, minor chord bass bumps and echoed synth lines, but "Tonto," while a little more creative, doesn't bring much more to table and nor does its B-side companion, "Museum of Modern." The same cadence and shuffling beat is found throughout the trio of tracks. Sydenham's reliance on the standard build-break-repeat composition would makes this package fit nicely in the bag of someone like Mauro Picotto, but for those expecting Sydenham's typical inventiveness in the producer's chair, this one is best left on the shelf.
Tracklist A My Pet Gorilla
B1 Tonto
B2 Museum Of Modern