June 13th, 2010 - Review

Soapism's resident reviewer, Marco Tulio Thrash, takes a look at Steve Summers' new release on Echovolt. Thanks MTT!

Steve Summers is another facette of producer Jason Letkiewicz's musical world about whom you can read more at the very clear and to the point confusedhouse.org website. During a recent interview, Lietkiewicz briefly and cautiously summed up the Steve Summers sound as "early chicago influenced house tracks". I am so grateful for this description because I'm ashamed to say I am completely illiterate when it comes to house music.

His latest release for Echovolt Records opens with trigger happy snares and claps before a totally bumptious bassline kicks in. Soon after, a languorous seductress slips into her negligé in the form of a silky lead melody. The 16 beat hi-hats maintain the energy until an 'electronic adventurer' - style melody comes in to supplant the initial seductress. That pretty much sums up the EP opener "Lucid Fingers".

"Deep Necking" is the other cut on the A-side. This is a more subdued jam with tingling percussives and a less manic drum machine allowing only for infrequent rhythm flourishes. In the background, a meandering snake charms around the mysterious temple ruins.

On to the B-side, where further pleasures await. "Seeing Things" is definitely a house track (not that I'd know any better) but there is something in its relentless and intoxicating hook that makes me think of 80's pop and new wave.

"What Do You Think You Feel" revisits the languid seductress again, but this time it feels like walking into a human wreck during a sunny morning in some abandoned house taken over by nature. The ebb and flow swathes catch the breeze while 'on-even-keel' toms negotiate the debris from elsewhere.

This record is so good, like a hearty risotto paired with the perfect wine. The flavor stays in your mind long after it has left your mouth. It paralyses you in the moment, so all that you can do is bask in the full sound. Your mind in bliss, arms flail in abandon.

In this EP, Steve Summers opens countless minds and lifts the collective weary soul. He's welcome at my house any time and something tells he'll be welcome at yours too.

Hear some samples and buy:

Echovolt Records

Confused House

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