Dam Mantle – Grey EP

 

There’s definitely something in the water in Glasgow; from the city that’s only just given us Rustie and the squelchy aural bliss that is ‘aquacrunk’ emerges an artist who has barely anything in common with the aforementioned, sonically speaking; however Dan Mantle is equally exciting. A Statue That Is Perpetually Unveiled finds a string section unravelling over and over, like a strategically starched vinyl copy of Stravinsky’s Petrushka, its cross-rhythms implying some impossible spatiotemporal territory between modern Cuba and early 20th century Russia. On Yoghurt, oriental lutes ring modulated beyond recognition, toyed with like a child playing with a Speak ‘n’ Spell, implying that this compelling debut EP was as much fun to make as it is to hear. [Joe Barton]