- Over the course of this debut EP for the new King Deluxe imprint, Mike Gardner never gives into gimmickry or neglects to flesh out what could be a sketch; for the most part, the eight tracks here are full-fledged songs. His palette is familiar but all his own, built solid, and the clash of heavy, physical percussion with curling and coiling synths is more than a little reminiscent of Flying Lotus. Indeed, he shares a common penchant for giddy 8-bit sounds, but then what he does with them is anything but ordinary. On "Madison Square Gardner" and elsewhere they're thickened with corrosive fuzz, and "Lazer Opera" goes full-bore into videogame mode, uncannily channeling the supremely catchy melodrama of classic Castlevania with its perpetually descending melody.
Along with the 8-bit obsession, Gardner also soaks up other stylistic tics, notably "Mickey Mouse" which holds up a Dilla-esque clipped string section against burning synths and junglist airhorns. The EP closes with "Three Mountains," which sends his tumbling metallic beats through a misty fog of drone. Madison Square Gardner takes the best parts of a vibrant scene full of unimaginative copycats and concocts his own confident blend, and while his own unique sound has yet to completely surface, there's something big lurking underneath the surface.
Lista de sequência de músicas01. Ramachandran
02. Ivy League Smack
03. Lazer Opera
04. Mickey Mouse
05. Hipster Crack
06. Cartoon Pornography
07. Madison Square Gardner
08. Three Mountains