Dam Mantle - We EP

1. We
2. Meet Me In The Ambulance
3. Somnambulate My Dear
4. Not A Word

First run of the year for one of 2010's most intriguing production units, Dam Mantle. Starting up the GetMe! label with the 'We' EP, they concoct an ethereal blend of spidery, skittish 808s, displaced vocals and rustic horror vibes, the likes of which we couldn't recall hearing anywhere else. From the top, 'We' rolls up shroomy, twirling arpeggios and Jukin' 808s with a defintively melancholy lilt which permeates the rest of the 12". It's apparent in the swift highlight of 'Meet Me In The Ambulance', where the rhythms roll in and out of 4/4 sequences under moodily grey-skied pads, and there in the lightly shrill dissonance of 'Somnambulate, My Dear' with it's BoC-like pastoral outro, and twystin' the midnight electronic soul of 'Not A Word' with a more fractal yet fluidly jazzy quality. Quite importantly, their sense of funk throughout these tracks is highly nuanced and way more devleoped than so many in their field, bar the actual Juke guys or the likes of Zomby and others, but applied with their own eerie melodies and voices, it's a unique affective brew. Recommended...www.boomkat.com