Blondes

Judging from the second full-length album by Sam Haar and Zach Steinman as Blondes, these guys are the type that take apart the washing machine in their parents' basement just to see how it works. Where so many FruityLoops house producers attempt to squeeze out as much sound as they can compress, their waveforms looking like hotdogs, there's a knowing calmness at the core of Swisher. Each of the tasteful tracks on this record allows the listener room to breathe, to find their place in the mix, to sink in and float along to the progressive, deep house sound, rather than being forced to surf the face-punching edge of clipping. From within, one can see all the nuts and bolts of Blondes' compositions, yet to feel them come together and work remains a wonder of form and function. The meat of the release is in its progressive house jams — eight-minute-long tracks that unhurriedly simmer along for much of their length, until you realize they came to a full boil some time ago. They are magnetically hypnotic, always verging on ecstasy, a hair's breadth from euphoria. Every bit as accomplished and rewarding as Simian Mobile Disco's recent work, Swisher is electronic music for the connoisseur.