- Dennis "Dego" McFarlane and his collaborators Kaidi Tatham and Akwesi Mensah are assured, consistent performers. This first outing for them on Rush Hour is an entirely instrumental EP of spacey electronics with structures that touch on jazz and broken beat. It comes from the more synthetic end of the group's output. After the likes of the Find A Way EP as Dego & The 2000 Black Family, Make It Hard is a reminder that McFarlane and co are equally as skilled with machines as they are with instruments.
The arps on the title track and "Counter-Attack" create the sense of birds flocking overhead. "Counter-Attack" adds a jazz-bar haze to jaunty keys that overlay the percussive bed. "Steady Jam" is named for your convenience. A straight-ahead shuffle of noodling percussion and effects, it's driven by glowing pads so deliberate you could set your watch by them. As with most things Dego puts him name to, Make It Hard is simply a great pleasure to listen to.
トラックリストA1 Make It Hard
B1 Counter Attack
B2 Steady Jam