MUSIC REVIEW: JAMES PANTS - 'NEW TROPICAL EP'
In A Smooth & Crunchy Exploration Of Beats On An EP Of Electronica Promise
The third studio outing from James Pants comes in the form a six-track EP — a little nugget of beats and treated vocals sounding like soft fruits mixed with walnuts and dropped in syrup.
New Tropical is a heat wave of tunes, with “Driftwood” introducing the first sweat-inducing sound that is sustained throughout. There’s a feeling that you’ve been flown onto an island paradise but you’re here more for resort hedonism than you are for the natural environment.
As dance tracks go, nothing here lasts too long. It would be nice to have the mood of “This Crazy Sound” — with its marching drums, wood-blocks, and bass growl — drawn out a little longer. Surely part of being crazy is not knowing when to stop. A great track would have reached perfection if only given slightly longer legs.
“1988″ is a tender, more mellow encounter, perhaps drawing its title from the ’80s-feeling synths. The melody seems tame in comparison to the harsher, more abrasive effect of other tracks.
There are some top sexy tunes here — these are tracks that will grind on you and bite your lip. No one promises anything of intimacy or tenderness, but that’s more than fine, thanks. Who of us bought a ticket to discuss their feelings over herbal tea and tear-stained poetry?
If anyone can boast mastering and making fresh-beat their own, it’s James Pants. Though his work has always felt effortless, his work ethic is obvious. New Tropical is proof that he’s really been doing his homework. Maybe looking over the shoulder of some European Electronica to copy notes, what’s handed in is most certainly a piece of highly original Americana.
For fans of the artist, New Tropical is a pleasing trip into original material, away from his career as DJ and remix wizard. For newcomers, it’s a new entrance that will most likely lead to a back-catalog of young but already established proficiency, working among some of the best-loved names in the genre.
For Fans Of: Justice, Daft Punk, Junior Boys, Cassius
Standout Tracks: “Driftwood”, “This Crazy Sound”, “1988″
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