With an almost un-Googleable name and a steady ooze of unconventional house records, Vancouver's 1080p has been releasing interesting noises for some time. With Touch of Jupiter, Friendly Chemist becomes the latest local artist to find a home here. As the title suggests, the EP is an unabashedly expansive, somewhat cosmic and notably saccharine affair. Whether it's the space synths burbling above warm pads, the noodling organ lines, or the sax on "Visions from Yesterday," Friendly Chemist seems to be aiming firmly for a distorted and misty-eyed take on classic euphoric house. With no shortage of jazzy melodic focus, Touch of Jupiter unfortunately ends up somewhat short on soul and energy, ending up closer to the clinical sound the medicinal artist name implies.
Though Chemist instils his fair share of satisfyingly distorted kicks and a rather enchanting ambient stretch, the EP lacks a certain subtlety in its treatment of the cheesier end of euphoria. The record is bookended by two exquisitely simple distorted drum n' synth tracks, but unfortunately much of the middle of the EP lacks propulsion, relying on the sickly sweet synths for narrative thrust instead of the raw rhythmic energy the record's more intriguing moments hint at.
(1080p)Though Chemist instils his fair share of satisfyingly distorted kicks and a rather enchanting ambient stretch, the EP lacks a certain subtlety in its treatment of the cheesier end of euphoria. The record is bookended by two exquisitely simple distorted drum n' synth tracks, but unfortunately much of the middle of the EP lacks propulsion, relying on the sickly sweet synths for narrative thrust instead of the raw rhythmic energy the record's more intriguing moments hint at.