Depth Connection
Different Waves

Release Date: 2013 | Tracklist

Different Waves is a purely joyous affair. Everything here is filled to the brim with such gleeful electronics and energetic instrumentation that it can be hard to find much fault in any of it. And yet it's easy for albums of a charming nature to ride entirely on that charm, failing to leave enough of a mark to be remembered. It's a trap I initially suspected Depth Connection would fall into on his debut EP, as the short opener and initial half of “Flower of Life” – while both being entertaining enough to get by – dabble in some of the more common stylings found in dance music. Fortunately, in “Flower of Life”'s latter half, Different Waves lifts off into the clouds and never comes down.

What separates these two aspects of the EP is Depth Connection seemingly finding his own identity, because the house beat on “Flower of Life” is well-produced and functional, but it's not even remotely as memorable as the airy and infectious melodies that soar over its final minute. And still this elevation of quality doesn't compare to the highlights of the EP found in the middle tracks, where “Droplets” meshes playful synth scatterings with organic guitar instrumentation in a way that calls to mind the peacefulness of Phaeleh in his finest hour. But instead of taking the easy route and riding the track out in that manner – which would've produced a fine track on its own – Depth Connection opts to use the driving force of the previously used dance-floor electronics to boost the guitar-work into a brisker pace and step into a style of post-rock that's entirely his own. Throughout “Droplets” and “Tunnel Vision”, the EP hits on such a natural blend of the infectious nature of dance music and the climactic journeys of post-rock that it reveals fault in a few parts of the EP that simply don't strive to accomplish the same task.

Depth Connection may have found a sweet spot, but he also makes it clear that he has more than one trick up his sleeve, as the remix of Lights' “Siberia” is able to capture the energy and ecstasy of the EP's peak moments in a completely different nature. Lights' fittingly smooth vocals are fueled with an extra injection of adrenaline and surrounded with the best synth-work on the EP, allowing Depth Connection to steal the show, using Lights as a natural accompaniment rather than relying on her as the focal point. It's no surprise that there's room for growth in a few places here; it's to be expected from a debut release. But the real surprise is how comfortable and unique Depth Connection already sounds on most of this. Even in the least impressive moments on the EP he's nailing a sound that other producers will try to use for their entire career. But at the EP's most impressive moments, the energy is overpowering, evoking dance as a reflex rather than an option.

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3.9 excellent

Rank: #0 for 2013