Coming right back to the batting cage after a release just two weeks ago, Slug Wife is sending off another heavy hitter worth its weight in bass. The tenured low-end alchemist Reso has provided six tracks for his Kyrios EP, each with their own evolutionary soundscapes and aural experimentations. Reso has spent the better part of the past six years making a name for himself as a purveyor of all things novel within the ever-changing boundaries of bass music. Consequently, his high-polished neuro palette is right at home with Slug Wife. 

Kyrios is particularly noteworthy because the perceived depth of sound expands as you continue to listen over time. The overall scheme of the EP track to track is intentionally similar, with it’s boisterous bravado and synthesizers that slap like a knock out in the octagon. Sink your teeth deeper than the surface level, however, and what awaits below is the dynamic layering of percussion, audio artifacts, idiosyncratic melodies, and research leftovers. There is a motif of thematic cacophony across the EP that has become a staple in neuro stylizations which want to be more than just imposing, aggressive tracks.

The first track “Artifice” hits square in the chest like a sledgehammer. It builds up quietly, and with no fanfare. Half a minute in, the slight tickle of the sub signals the impending frequency violations, and before you know it you’re getting tossed back and forth by a maelstrom of full-bodied cuts. The track eschews dynamic growth in the composition to make way for small but constant shifts to the design of each tone and texture.

“Loaf Eye” creates a rest in the intensity of the EP’s flow. The track slows things down just a pinch to line up right with the perfect head-nod pocket. Rehashed granular textures float in and out of the mix, following steady sub rhythms and a driving percussive march. The tonal expansion follows an exponential curve, with the shredded phenotypes and low-end sound design taking on harsher edges as the song follows its composition.

“Sleazy” is without question the most impressive of the pack. Rocking a steady tempo with enough air to breathe, the song juggles zig-zagging melodies and criss-crossed stabs of high powered bass frequencies. The rhythm falls over itself and turns back around on a dime, flipping kicks over snaps over snares with an upright bounce. The track develops gradually and presents a constant cascade of resampled synthesis, slowly phasing into simulacrums of the underlying waveforms.

The assured quality that Slug Wife delivers with each successive release is something akin to the sun rising each morning. Couple that quality guarantee with a titan like Reso, and the results level the competition almost every time. As always, those mutated gastropods have their finger on the pulse of cutting edge electronic music and sound design pioneering. The calibre required to receive their stamp of approval is no less than top flight, and Reso smashed all the marks six times over with the Kyrios EP. Keep your senses sharp and focused on these slimy slugs from across the pond, because the next neck-breaker is probably right around the corner.

PURCHASE THE KYRIOS EP HERE

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