Call Super - Depicta / Acephale II EP on Houndstooth

Now that the sparklers have fizzled out and the floor is littered with discarded streamers and champagne bottles, the business of following up a stellar first year faces fabric offshoot Houndstooth. Despite lauded albums from Special Request and Akkord, plus the unexpected crossover tendencies of Snow Ghosts, the releases that have shown the greatest inertia have all emanated from the various machines of JR Seaton. Each work has demonstrated a focus that is primed to endure, ones that will be speculatively bookmarked as wants by the hopeful Discogs treasure hunters in years to come.

It goes without saying that focus is almost unavoidable on a two tracker, although it is worth noting that this is a first for a label that often leans on value added EP's and lengthier offerings, a sign that it is emerging from the turn of the year with enough confidence to able to place forward a pared back and chiselled fragment of obsidian artistry.

Both Depicta and Acephale II run with enough vigour to stand aside from self-indulgent techno experimentalism, yet the intangible melodies firmly kicks any pretence of derivative main room techno to the side. In Depicta, the boxy kick never alters, staging a hypnotic metronome for the offbeat bass toms to provide the meat, the unexpected surfacing via a wilting synth that moves on unseen currents, slipping through your fingers as you try to mentally grasp a hold of it. Acephale II is equally futuristic in intent, the high end percussion hisses and crackles with electricity while quickfire 808 State-esque arpeggio dance around in tandem.

Hitting the holy grail of techno production, the rigidity of both tracks shifts into shoulder swaying momentum as they progress, their core energy somehow both stoic and evolving. Perhaps this will be a metaphor for Houndstooth over 2014, with head man Rob Booth himself following an unaltered vision since his founding Electronic Exploration days; to explore the constantly evolving political fringes of electronica's territories and return from each expedition with nothing but the most unique and exquisite.