Wasplike by JK Flesh
The JK Flesh Techno freight train keeps delivering the good stuff
Back in 2012, in a short biography by Holly Dicker, Justin Broadrick is quoted as saying:
JK Flesh is the angry, hateful, disenchanted side of what I do with electronic beat-driven, bass-driven music
That statement is patently not true today. Over the last few releases, the "Electronic" side of Broadrick's musical output has steadily veered towards Techno, and it certainly ain't aggressive. Yes, it's powerful and driving but more importantly: it's positive.
Wasplike is the second EP this year from Broadrick, which suggests the four tracks may have come from the same sessions that produced PI04, his stellar release on Pi Electronics, released at the beginning of 2018. The tracks share a sense of dramatic urgency, both lithe and vital in their construction and poise. Four originals this time (i.e. no remixes) which could be a sign of Broadrick's broadening confidence as a Techno connoisseur, with each utilising accepted compositional traits: subtle drops, descending loops and a regular rhythm. One may argue that Broadrick's sense of investigation and boundary-pushing has reached its limit, with tracks like Mindprison, simply ticking all the right boxes. On the other hand, title track Wasplike provides a license for the imagination to run riot, with its swarming melody, coursing along with a persistent, attacking rhythm.
It's riveting stuff but I wonder where Broadrick goes from here?
- Rating: 9/10
- Listens: 18
- Highlight: Wasplike
- Label: Inner Surface Music
- Release Date: 15th June 2018
- Formats: Vinyl 12”, Digital