Shlohmo’s releases have never really been about party, but on »Laid Out«, the party is officially over. Everything is done and dusted, the last bass has shaken us to the core. It’s that very moment when you’re in a train, when you try really hard not to fall asleep, when it starts to flicker in your ears – that’s what Shlohmo’s new EP is all about. Shlohmo focuses on his love for filters, through which he runs vocal- and synth-lines, until they distort beyond recognition. Like spun thoughts at seven o’clock in the morning, under a cold sky. It’s not the kind of jolly morning-stroll, on which one would marvel at the first birds twittering. Instead, »Laid Out« is cold and paralyzed. The bass lines move like wafts of mist over the empty, dirty dancefloor. It sounds very British, this gloominess, especially, when Shlohmo pays his tribute to Burial on »Out Of Hand«. It’s the way that he uses the vocal-sample, and how the drumline stumbles from HipHop towards 2Step. Shlohmo seems more confident than ever: His sound is absolutely distinctive by now. It’s a mix of post-party-depression and the echo of bass lines and rattling snare drums, which pushes you forward again in the end – no one is able to create that atmosphere like the producer from Los Angeles. »Laid Out« is a logical development of Shlohmo’s works. On his next record, he should keep the sound and hand the Jeremihs and the Weeknds a big portion of cough syrup, then every whim would be satisfied.
Laid Out EP Red Vinyl Edition
