Sydney-based electronic producer Felix Idle first surfaced with his debut EP under his Shisd alias back in 2011, and on the heels of his recent appearance on Feral Media’s ‘Strain Of Origin IV’ compilation, this latest seven track EP ‘Ave’ finally offers up its follow-up. Recorded during early in 2014 during Idle’s stays in Tokyo and various Australian cities, the seven tracks collected here see him sharpening the pop sensibilities permeating throughout his preceding work, and while’s there’s still a distinctly blurred aesthetic at work here, the vocals and indeed, clearly decipherable lyrics form far more of a centrepiece here. Having said that though, Idle’s vocals still remain at the edges of opener ‘Don’t Speak Too Much’, his melancholic tones bleeding into another textural element against cold sheeny synth pads and sparse hip hop-centred kick drums, the entrance of jittery stuttered hi-hats adding to the growing sense of wooziness as deep bass pads build.
By contrast though, ‘In June’ sees his clear vocals sliding straight into the foreground, his reverb-treated harmonies tracing a ghostly path through distant phased synth trails and harsh, industrial-edged snares in a beguiling manner that suggests the likes of James Blake perhaps more than anything else. Elsewhere, ‘Shampoo’ offers up a vaguely eerie slide through twinkling refracted synth melodies and clicking rhythms that accelerate up to near house tempos at one point while Idle’s Japanese lyrics add a teasingly playful pop edge that nicely counterbalances the brooding melancholy, before ‘Colour Bars’ sees him collaborating with P A R K S to create what’s easily this EP’s most ominously beautiful witch-house tinged moment, as sharp focus snares roll against dark flashes of melody and Idle’s almost chorale vocal delivery. Spectacularly brooding stuff that’s well worth seeking out – move fast though as the physical CD run is limited to just 100 copies.
