Thursday 2 June 2011

Vessel: ‘Nylon Sunset’ / Peverelist remix

A review I wrote for FACT magazine. View the original here.


We all know by now that Bristol’s presence on the musical map far outstrips its physical size, and despite being based in London, new label left_blank has turned to the West Country’s Vessel, a member of the Young Echo collective alongside recent Punch Drunk signing Khan, for a promising, varied debut release.

‘Ton’ takes the sprightly off-beat kick drums you’d associate with Hessle Audio favourites Joe or Blawan and sprinkles them with elasticated synths and breathless vocals, creating a piston-efficient rhythm that steadily builds before exploding in a shower of percussion. Meanwhile ‘Blushes’ is a moodier and more self-conscious affair, opening with plodding woodblocks and ponderous atmospherics before tripping into a skewed house drum riff that contrasts nicely with the track’s buoyant bassline and metallic lead melody.

The highlight of the EP inevitably comes from Peverelist’s remix, which inverts the bright-eyed optimism of ‘Nylon Sunset’ into a deliciously unsettling glance back at the murkier side of garage, a tumbling 2-step rhythm providing that driving momentum that’s a constant of so much of Peverelist’s recent work. The Vessel originals are only marginally overshadowed though – in fact, they could fit comfortably on Pev’s own label. What bigger compliment can you pay than that?