Hodge - HEK025

Label: Hemlock

Bristol’s Hodge seems to just get better with each release. He’s already proven his diversity, deftly moving between the colourful house of Outboxx, techno meditations with Pev and his own explorations which dig into the UK bass spectrum outside the 4/4. His latest for Untold’s Hemlock imprint has a real rude flavour to it, immediately apparent on the grime-soaked strings of Blood Moon, whose constant rhythmic pressure is all swagger, indicating that Hodge may have a learnt a little from working with Pev, maestro of such knotty percussion.

I Don’t Recognise You Lately is just as fine, a bright UK Funky melody isolated from its familiar surroundings, left to play out alone in a field of chittering snares and aggressive tides of bass pressure. Recall lays out a simple synth bounce before assaulting it with an array of effects and clattering drums, while Tail Of The Snake goes tropical with buoyant chimes, animal cries and a real Afro shake to the rhythms. One of the great things about Hodge’s music is that, unlike some of his contemporaries pushing the vanguard of UK’s mutant techno scene, he’s not afraid of melodies and hooks. This makes his tracks as easy to love as they are destructive on the dancefloor. Even better, it seems with each successive EP he tries on a new style, and every outfit just fits him so damn good.

8/10