Alix Perez - Dark Days EP

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  • Though his 12-inches have often explored the blander side of functionality, Alix Perez's 2009 debut LP 1984 was an agonizing outpouring of intensely personal emotion. On 1984 Perez seemed to attempt any facet of drum & bass music he could imagine. His contemporary mixes and live sets have been just as diverse, effortlessly entwining disparate strands into a cohesive, coherent line. All of this makes the Dark Days EP, Perez's proper follow-up to 1984, slightly confusing. Like much of his single output, these tracks seem concerned more with utility than artful expression. On the album, Perez collaborated with hip-hop group Foreign Beggars for the evil Wu-Tang-evoking "The Cut Deepens," a partnership he reprises here for "Dark Days." The militancy of the halting beat is impressive in itself, but Foreign Beggars are on autopilot their braggadocio ringing hollow. There's another collaboration in the form of "Loose Ends;" Noisia, arguably the biggest names in d&b outside of Pendulum, don't do much to bring out the adventurer in Perez, instead sticking to their own mostly uninteresting blend of obnoxious basslines and monochrome percussion. The one remnant of the restless spirit of 1984 is "Behind Time," which adorns the tough beats with delicate synth trills and obscured vocal moans. 1984 seemed like a leap forward for Perez. So I can't help but be disappointed that Perez seems to be moving in such an overly masculine, aggressive direction. Hopefully Dark Days is merely a stopgap on the road to further progression.
  • Tracklist
      A Dark Days B Behind Time C Loose Ends D Menacing Ways
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