EP Review: The Wrap Around EP - Detroit Swindle

Detroit Swindle are Amsterdam based Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets. This, The Wrap Around EP, represents Saints & Sonnets first release since Ethyl & Huxley's popular '3 Feet High' last year.

'The Wrap Around' itself is a soulful house track. The feel is pretty straight up with warm washes and a male vocal creating summer vibe - the press release likens it to Detroit, hence the name I would imagine, but if 'The Wrap Around' inhabits any city it's a fictional one smack bang in between the motor city and Chicago. The drums and echoing atmosphere have a feel of techno about them whilst the bass and vocal are pretty much straight up house.

Unfortunately 'The Wrap Around' feels a little lost - it's not a great house track and has none of the cold mechanical soul of great techno. It seems to want to be liked just a little too much. Much better is second cut 'Pain Tomorrow' - more obviously Detroit inspired, it's a tight minimal track that retains some funk but feels considerably more sincere, a loft party, clinking-glasses, trainers-squeaking across floorboards kind of vibe. It could easily have fallen out of fellow Detroit worshippers Motor City Drum Ensemble's record box. A good thing in my book.

As Pattern Select, Milton Jackson and Mathias Schober offer up a remix of 'Pain Tomorrow' for the final track here. The first three minutes are frankly nothing but an overly long DJ lead-in but from there it gets more interesting, stripping the original back and adding some thick, heavy drum and darker synth work whilst keeping some of the space and atmosphere of the original.

The Wrap Around EP is release on Saints & Sonnets on 7 March.