Robin Judge

Understated and elegant while still being face-forward fresh, Robin Judge uses minimal house-tech standards to construct an insouciant and sophisticated atmosphere. Sticking largely to standard house tempo, she’s balanced muggy, rotund bass, slightly less muted midsections with cleaner high tones for a clean, yet not gaunt, mix. In layering short and medium-length tones in a tidy mosaic she successfully borrows the sparseness of glitch without actually using a scanty arrangement. Likewise, there are times when she hints at the largesse of big-room house (like in "Air”) but still stays enjoyably reserved. The tones themselves make for attractive listening. On the track "Sprawl,” sounds are reminiscent of air blowing through a straw; of marbles being rotated in your hand; of lentils in a shaker — all in tandem with a beautifully muted and selectively employed bass line. Notably, many of the songs sound similar, but that’s not a disclaimer. This is one of the sole cases I’ve come across where similar-sounding tracks benefit the album in that the differences emerge after two or three listens, and the subtleties replenish the sophisticated feeling throughout. It’s like a good mixed drink: you want to ask the bartender what’s in it, but you’re too busy enjoying it to take your lips off the straw.