The three songs on Tokyo producer HVNS just-released Chrome EP are night numbers, but they aren’t just simple songs for driving around empty streets or letting loose after midnight. A tension runs through the spine of these steely numbers, the warped vocal samples drifting through obscured ever so slightly, coming off like just out of reach sound. Not to say they aren’t fun and energetic — these have a limb-moving power to them, especially the house rumbler “Demi” — but energetic moments such as the title track still contain plenty of unease and some moments of outright crushing sound. Listen above.
(Note: I also had a wisdom tooth pulled today, maybe that is affecting my thinking here)