- Tight, controlled, somewhere on the edge of being divinely poised and too pent up for its own good—so goes Motor City Drum Ensemble's "Monorail." The original is a patient, steadily rolling piece that opens itself in time, with drums that start to shake toward the end and spells of synth strings that do the good business of brooding. Much of that rich moodiness goes away in a ho-hum remix by John Roberts, who brightens the track up and pulls it apart into more or less serviceable house threads, but to no real discernible end.
The B-side on this double 12-inch features a pair of quiet Chicago-style stormers, both with steady doses of acid, by Hundred 20, for which MCDE teams with BNCKD to shift emphasis from the Motor City to the Windy City. Both do the deed well, and in no way that would foretell the swooning, spangly ambient lounge sound of Creative Swing Alliance's "Now (Loving You)," which fills up the D-side. It's not clear what might be meant to cinch all the different tracks together here, which maybe isn't necessary but sure doesn't help stave off a creeping feeling of what we might call whatever-ism at play.
トラックリスト A Motor City Drum Ensemble - Monorail
B1 Hundred 20 - Upper Alley
B2 Hundred 20 - Summer of 89
C1 Motor City Drum Ensemble - Monorail (John Roberts Remix)
C2 Motor City Drum Ensemble - There's A Truth feat. Stee Downes
D Creative Swing Alliance - Now (Loving You)