- Since Kingdom started it in 2011, Fade To Mind has evolved into Night Slugs' roughneck American cousin. The clean angles turn confrontational in the hands of artists like MikeQ, while various strains of American club music surface through cloudy hybrids by Massacooraman and Nguzunguzu. Until now the only release from Kingdom himself, who often prefers a smoother R&B sound, was last year's hodgepodge remix collection VIP EDITION. Vertical XL is one of his most substantial statements yet, and offers a glimpse of Ezra Rubin at both his most radio-ready and his most pared-down.
The EP begins with a showstopping vocal update of "Bank Head," released earlier this year on Night Slugs All Stars Vol. 2. Kelela rides the track's whirls of synth, keeping her beautiful voice in service of the instrumental. "Zip Line" is a brief reprise of "Bank Head" with gaudy string plucks, transitioning from the vocal tune into the hard-hitting club music of the EP's back half.
These are the shortest tracks Rubin has ever put out, and they hit hard. "Corpse" marries the ice-cold textures of mid-'00s hip-hop production with stop-start stabs and a sputtering bassline that hurtles it through each measure. "Viper Lash" offers up naked synth trills and then pummels them into submission, while "OG Master" toys around with tough UK textures, as a single sluggish synth holds the hard parts together.
The last two songs see Rubin re-injecting emotion back into the template. "Takedown Notice" repurposes the reedy synth wheezes of '90s R&B into a space-age ballad. "Viper XL" borrows the triumphalism of the LuckyMe crew and fastens it to a beat that constantly spirals upward. Throughout the EP, Kingdom pulls threads from divergent styles of music and reshapes them with all the contours and stark hooks his clique has become known for.
トラックリストA1 Bank Head feat. Kelela
A2 Corpse
B1 OG Master
B2 Viper XL