mta records

EP Review: What I Might Do - Ben Pearce

​What I Might Do - Ben Pearce

​As we move into Autumn in the UK you can sense that new introspective calm that tends to follow summer. And it almost seems to be affecting the music coming out now, like Christmas does but instead of festive cheer much of what I've been listening to is fuelled by a bluesy sense of reserved consideration. Lots of music for dancing on your own, then.

It is a mood that has culminated in me playing around with DJ sets of a kind of blues influenced house - Morgan Geist's Storm Queen releases are a good example of the sound, but Ben Pearce's new EP would fit right in too.

'What I Might Do' starts with soft, pensive keys but is soon all rumbling bass and snappy, slightly pissed-off vocals. The music forms a shell around these vocals, conjuring a perfect background but it is the vocal that takes centre stage. The soulful verse packs sufficient feeling to survive the repetition it endures and the overall track is hard not to love. And as I said - it's pretty perfect for this time of year.

Along with a club mix and a radio edit of the original the EP comes with three additional remixes. Harry Wolfman's mix mostly stays true to the original - there is a slightly nineties vibe to the bass and the vocals are used a little more cautiously - it is an approach that works well. Adam Shelton's mix is darker, taught synth melodies and a robotic bass adding a layer of paranoia absent from the original, though it lacks the appeal of the other versions here. Finally Bonar Bradberry takes a more muted route, giving things a deep, dubbed feel and ending with some dark acid work.

What I Might Do is released on Monday through MTA Records, available to pre-order from on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].​