Hardware maestro Max Ravitz aka Patricia steps onto the unerring Acid Test imprint for a 4 track EP that, unsurprisingly, centres around the Roland TB-303.
In advance of the full release, ‘Coffee Computer’ was circulated as the lead single and it devilishly lulls you into a false sense of security. Easy to gravitate towards, it is utterly dreamy with lullaby melodies and feathery chords, and it is also the complete antithesis of the absolute dance floor storm clouds that make up the rest of ‘Less Than 7’.
Arguably, the rest of the EP is the most direct Patricia release to date – at least by my personal experience. Direct, but not standard, as the many acid loops and gentle melodies that develop throughout ‘Winding To The Side’ illustrates perfectly. Its groove is like finding the end of a roll of Sellotape, a twisted face of determination reflecting back at you as you determinedly paw at the reflection to catch a nick. It is a bit of a Patricia trademark, and it exists here at its most honed and sharpened best.
If that wasn’t a statement of intent, the full throttle ‘Head Gap Width’ wades in with phased 909 hats and sharp, layered stabs of dub techno chords. Each element of the track appears like a broad shouldered, burly dancer, assembling at the front of the stage with grim determination to pump left and right to the beat, only to part in order to let a gnarly 303 a moment of spotlight before the melee builds again.
Sitting between these two is ‘At A Gallop’ embracing the dub hues of ‘Head Gap Width’ but also the unresolved nature of ‘Winding To The Side’ where each moment feels like it is a bridge to a new phrase, but instead it keeps pulling you into a bubbling, oily tumble. Then that brings you back to the finale ‘Coffee Computer’, that delightful sorbet that rounds off a compelling collection of tracks.
‘Less Than 7’ is scheduled for release 30 September via Acid Test. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. At A. Gallop
2. Head Gap Width
3. Winding To The Side
4. Coffee Computer