Label: Swordtail

  Released: July 2nd, 2007

  Reviewed: 7/10

  Jacco at Work and Rez-I-Dent have a pretty solid outing here for Swordtail. Three out of the four productions on this release hit their mark with surgical precision accuracy that would make NASA jealous. While not aiming to be peak time monsters they have fulfilled the duty of the filler track to a T.

The first track "Fast A Sleep" starts off with slow but continues to build into full, lush groover that will grab people’s attention and keep their headings nodding. The percussion arrangement is simple yet effective with subtle panning to help keep the listeners attention and keep them intrigued and wanting more. The bass line, while not being anything to write home about, keeps the track moving and provides a good foundation for all the other elements to come. Not funky or moving but some how it works amazingly well for this track. Everything else from here on out is what makes the track a keeper. The lush pads keep you in a trance and leaves your head floating while the main melody is simple in execution but keeps you focused and heading in the right direction. A solid track to be used as a set up for the bigger tracks to come.

On remix duties for "Fast A Sleep" is Sertac Kaya, and he turns in a less than stellar performance. The track doesn’t seem to be coherent at all, just elements slapped together to cash in on the electro/tech house fad happening at the moment. The percussions are rather simple and don’t seem to compliment each other well and they don’t really add much to the track as a whole. The melody is lacking in any depth and is rather dry for it’s trying to achieve. The only saving grace for this track is the bass line, and even that is predictable but it is layered well with a bit of juicy thickness to it. Avoid this track if you can, you’ll be doing yourself and the crowd a favor.

The second original for this release is "Grab A Bargain" and it’s a nice mixture of techy goodness with a deep house vibe. The percussion work once again shines through with nice little syncopated bits to make it come to life and give it some character and its own identity. Not big lush pads like before, but solid synths use through out to give it a solid direction with some pads showing up with interesting panning effects to make it move. The stand out element from this tune is the whispery effect they have in the background throughout the whole tune. You can’t make out what they are saying, or even if they are saying words at all but it’s that little something that makes the tune whole and finished and ready for your club.

The final track for this release is the remix of "Grab A Bargain" performed by Native and he picks up the slack where Sertac couldn’t deliver. Right off the bat you’re introduced to original percussions and a bass line that gets the job done. Alone none of the percussion elements wouldn’t be able to stand by themselves, but together they compliment each other, picking up where the last one left off and continuing the groove without breaking stride. The track as a whole sounds coherent and very well thought out. It has multiple layers without any one of them fighting for attention. They all are just playing and grooving along like a jam band who has been together for years and knows how to tell what direction each other is going in. Really a solid track to get the floor moving and get them ready for the heavy hitters in your record bag to come.

All in all a solid release for Swordtail. Three out of four isn’t bad and I’ll be making sure to keep an eye out for Jacco and Rez in the future.

7/10

Jayson Mongan [19-Jun-2007]