- Barry Lynn of Northern Ireland makes increasingly lavish dubstep-funky-garage-nexus stuff as Boxcutter. Since he records largely for Planet Mu, it's easy to mistake him for someone on somewhat of a sharper-angled, more jokester tip. As for the moniker, Lynn told Headphone Commute last year that it "only makes sense in the context of a few of the earlier tracks . . . it's got attached to a much broader spectrum of music than I'd ever expected."
Breadth of spectrum is key to this EP's appeal. (It's on Kinnego, which released Space Dimension Controller's breakthrough 12-inch.) All three tracks here (one digital-only) are sure-handed and generous with detail. "Familiar Sound," the MP3 bonus, is the most lavishly widescreen: all manner of percussion, from a TV-switch-off to a pattering ride cymbal, travels evenly from left to right, while funky-wormy synths get in sleek nerd-funk riffs before the track deconstructs itself. "Moon Pupils" finds a groove that's sleek and even a little whimsical—it's rooted hard in 1999-era 2-step, but its frosty production touches (the crisp drums, the flurrying strings/woodwinds, the flown-in sound effects that fill out the rhythm instruments) are lightly baroque. "2Time" explores a "purple" '80s-R&B feel to sleek effect.
Tracklist A Boxcutter - Moon Pupils
B Boxcutter & Kab Driver - 2time
Digital: Boxcutter - Familiar Sound