Psychedelic Relics

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“The title of T.B. Arthur’s Psychedelic Relics hints at two aspects of the producer’s music. One, it operates in the venerable acid house tradition of frying brains; two, it plays with vintage tropes, encouraging us to imagine we’re hearing forgotten ’90s gems. That second aspect has actually taken a backseat since Arthur moved on from the Test Pressing series: in some respects, the producer now sounds more modern than most artists with a TB-303 obsession. But this EP, which is now getting a digital release after surfacing on vinyl in May, definitely upholds the first aspect. Its swampy grooves are too laden with synth ooze to provide much of a body trip, but they do strange and disturbing things to the mind.

The A2 might be the most brain-melting. The acid line is a queasy squiggle tugging oddly against the kick drum, and the percussion is rattling and unstable. Or maybe it’s the bizarre B2, a rolling triplet groove over which piercing drones and 303 squelch are whipped into a grim fog. On the other two tracks, the acid lines aren’t melodic so much as portamento’d smears; it’s a striking effect, but one which starts to grate. The A1 has a pretty on-the-nose electro-house flavour, though the groggy percussion, all sly bongos and hollow claps, rescues it. The B1 goes full panic-stations, its lead line wailing like a siren over blown-out drums.” Resident Advisor