★★★☆
Slumberjack’s single ‘Fracture’, featuring the powerful vocals of Vera Blue, was released at the beginning of 2017, and has, in a few short months, gained over a million streams on Spotify. It’s no surprise that their new EP by the same name takes significant cues from the lead single, pitting various female vocalists including Sydnee Carter and KLP against hard-hitting drops and uncompromisingly bold percussion.
While the duo could definitely be accused of a lack of variety on this EP, limiting your listening to this train of thought doesn’t allow you consider how well these tracks have been executed. Yes, three of the new songs feature a female vocalist, but there is an accomplished and subtle variation between them while still retaining that Slumberjack sound.
Yes, three of the new songs feature a female vocalist, but there is an accomplished and subtle variation between them.
‘Take Me’, which sparingly features KLP’s vocals, is actually more like ‘Ra’ than it is Slumberjack’s more recent efforts, using minor and pentatonic-like chords to drive its haunting and dark production. ‘Paralyse’ is an excellent example of how talented the duo are at intercutting glitchy, spacious percussive samples with smooth, layered synths. And while it is supposed to be merely an interlude, ‘Cradle To Grave’ is easily the most complex and captivating track on the whole record.
The best thing about this EP is that it sees Slumberjack start to define who they really are.
Slumberjack’s Fracture is out now through OneLove.
