Vaporub

Vaporub

Alex Smoke [Hum and Haw]

22 April, 2008 | 1.00PM

• Section: Music Recommendations
• Written by: Lee Smith

He’s back! After what seems like an eternity, Glasgow’s finest returns, now with his own label and some striking new ideas.

Of the three tracks here, ‘Blackbody’ is the most typically Smoke-like, with its propulsive arrangement, clean, chugging beats and rich, hair-raising synth swells.

Deeply rendered and intricately pulsing, it’s certain to appeal to fans of Smoke’s smooth yet edgy post-minimal style.

‘Clapface’, and ‘Vapourub’, however, see him turning the distortion right up for a pair of wildly spiky dancefloor bombs.

Snarling ravey stabs battle with crunching, granular percussion and ominous flailing FX on both cuts, effectively sticking two fingers up at the sonically conservative sheen of so much contemporary techno.

If you thought ‘Meany’ and ‘Brian’s Lung’ were as heavy as Alex Smoke gets, just wait until you hear these.

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