Philadelphia-based producer Jneiro Jarel has been musically active for more than 20 years, rotating through a clip of guises that include Panama Black and Dr. Who Dat?. Here he unveils his new imprint Label Who with a fleeting EP of cosmic, hip-hop-informed electronics. Soaked through with buzzing and blurry tones, its eight tracks total just 21 minutes.
Jarel sings in a romantic warble early into ‘Android Romance 1 & 2’, and those futuristic themes are visited on ‘Swift Hovercrafts’ as well. With a hazy beat sputtering in the backdrop while mellow synths chime in from all sides, the standout ‘Going Home’ features vocals from Micah Gaugh of the New York band Apollo Heights. It winds up sounding a bit like TV On The Radio, with whom Jarel has collaborated, and nicely tugs at the heartstrings through its soupy atmosphere.
Otherwise, though, there isn’t much heft to Android Love Mayhem. Jarel is a skilful, dreamy-eyed producer, but such retro-futuristic genre splicing has lately been done with more verve by relative newcomers like Janelle Monae and Dâm-Funk. Still, this is enough to generate curiosity for Jarel’s myriad other work, ideally featuring longer tracks and more vocal collaborations.
Doug Wallen
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