- I've only seen Malory Butler perform once, when she opened for Laurel Halo at Trans-Pecos in Brooklyn. And despite about a five-year gap in experience, the two were a perfect fit. Butler, a Floridian ex-ballerina who now calls the Bushwick neighborhood home, seems to have a sort of spiritual connection to Halo. They've both spent time in New York and came to electronic music from more classical, formally-trained backgrounds. Unlike Halo, Malory didn't make synth pop and ambient before arriving at techno, but she's wound up in a very similar place on her debut EP. Malory carries the hallmarks of an artist with much more music to her name and a natural understanding of movement.
With five tracks, Malory's first release thoroughly carves out her own operating space. She uses straightforward rhythmic figures that nonetheless feel loose and experimental. The way Prostitutes unabashedly clings to the grid comes to mind, albeit tempered with, say, Stellar OM Source's slyly alien sound design. It doesn't always work: "Dundundun" is a bit flat and overly frigid, and the least exciting of the bunch despite the burly bassline that occasionally sneaks in to add some swagger.
Tracks like "Dah" (the big banger here) and "Swarf," however, show just how good Malory's approach can be—she sets up their muscular, unmovable foundations to give meaty basslines and percussion something to tease at and spin around. It works well with pared-down arrangements, too. Both "Boohbah" and highlight "Oomph, Pt. 3" rely on staunch beats and atonal whorls to get their subterranean grooves out, the latter only using its slippery bass sequence to lure you underground before disappearing altogether. Whether it's with that sonic sleight of hand or a rhythmic stunt, Malory wants to trick you. It's best one is making such rigid austerity sound so damn funky.
Tracklist01. Dundundun
02. Boohbah
03. Dah
04. Oomph, Pt. 3
05. Swarf