Trevino

Front

BY Pierre John FelcenlobenPublished May 27, 2016

6
Knowing that the Mancunian behind the muffled four-on-the-floor-inspired house and techno personality Trevino, Marcus Intalex, is a sideline golf enthusiast allows us to join the dots far more easily when it comes to the cover art of Front — which bears a striking resemblance to a course — or the fact that it was released on a label called Birdie.
 
However, Front skips to a beat more closely resembling a basketball dribble that a golf ball landing on the green. The first instalment of a two-part LP, the record begins with a couple of modestly rising house cuts that will seduce the most reserved of dancers before questionably veering along murkier trails.
 
The hypnotic drums here mingle with whirling synths, generating a feeling of zooming around on a telephoto lens, while suspense lingers on tracks like "Hum Drum" and "Moving Target" as Intalex lets the excess echoes run off the metallic clangs and drills.
 
Unlike from much of Trevino's previous work, the layering here feels slightly off, accruing less momentum than a release like Klockworks 9 did. The result is that Front is something of a mixed bag, alternating genres but never quite weaving them together.
(Birdie Recordings)

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