The Corduroy EP is the debut release from Brooklyn-based producer, vocalist and wordsmith Elbows, who describes his sound as something like time travel. For those not in the know, "time travel" apparently sounds like a fusion of hip-hop, electronic production and jazz instrumentation, all with a thick coating of accessible, dreamy pop sheen.
Initially, Corduroy has that slight mash-up quality — an old-school vocal snippet here or murmuring undercurrent there, or cut-up audio samples atop a looped, circus-fuelled buzz — that calls to mind the Avalanches' Since I Left You. Rather than keep it a constant, however, Elbows drops the sampling completely after the intro and second track "Corduroy"; instead, Corduroy happily floats along on a hefty dose of pop, with the underlying instrumentation grasping at the heels of jazz. What could arguably be amped up is the electronic production, if only to have the light glaze that's present in the opener spread evenly across all tracks.
(Independent)Initially, Corduroy has that slight mash-up quality — an old-school vocal snippet here or murmuring undercurrent there, or cut-up audio samples atop a looped, circus-fuelled buzz — that calls to mind the Avalanches' Since I Left You. Rather than keep it a constant, however, Elbows drops the sampling completely after the intro and second track "Corduroy"; instead, Corduroy happily floats along on a hefty dose of pop, with the underlying instrumentation grasping at the heels of jazz. What could arguably be amped up is the electronic production, if only to have the light glaze that's present in the opener spread evenly across all tracks.