Terekke's YYYYYYYYYY is completely unsurprising, totally unremarkable; it's 2013 and by now you come to expect certain standard from anything branded with those four letters L.I.E.S. The Brooklyn native's second addition to the Electric System is no different: just more wallpaper on the A&R office, another notch in a label catalogue where missteps stand out more than victories. 2012 was a year that belonged to Ron Morelli whether the rest of the world knew it or not. Now a few more ears have perked up, as loudly as this subdued little record can say, 2013 will probably be his too.
The needle hits the wax with 'Bank 3' – trading in the instant gratification and intraveinous hooks you probably weren't expecting for layered textures and slowbuilding narratives. Well-placed woodblocks and dry hi-ends clash with the nebulous synth line that cushions the track, drifting in and out of focus. Some half-worded vocals, chopped and screwed ’08 dancefloor stylee add to the last half, ducking down under chunks of synth that take their turn for the outro. It's a structure that would be meandering if it wasn't so well controlled. Clearly Terekke's in no rush to get things going, each element has their rides the kick drum for a while before politely bowing out.
All the kick and attack is sanded down for 'Piano'; a dusted, introverted number. Submerged percussion swells through an ocean of analogue warmth. And that's it, repeat, restructure, repeat, shuffle some elements around for a glorious, evolving mess of delicate tones.
'Amaze' is all lilting melodies reverbed into oblivion across the same levels of analogue feedback, thrown in with a killer vocal sample muffled underneath the low lying fuzz. That vocal stays with you, something from the depths of a dancefloor that seems so distant - it's one of those sugar coated moments that reminds you of the range and scope of L.I.E.S' message; the sound of a label taking the hooks with the punches, the stargazing with the neck snapping and quietly rolling out the red carpet for more American Noise in 2013.
YYYYYYYYYY is available to the world on 18th of March, preorder it now from Delsin.
