[Hotflush Recordings]

I had almost written George FitzGerald off after the Hotflush newbie released a dishearteningly derivative debut single for the lauded label. The tracks were well-produced but uninspired, Joy Orbison-styled garage-leaning house, and it’s a remarkably empty sound when devoid of individual nuance. Yet now its seems that first impressions were somewhat misleading, as his follow-up — which actually dates back to at least January 2010 where it was a highlight on Scuba’s Sub:Stance mix for Ostgut Ton — reveals a more mature, personalized sound. “Don’t You” is sleeker, sexier, and more importantly weightier: the track’s quick-footed percussion and gurgling bass line pack much-needed substance where previous material was all fluff.

Not only rhythmically improved, the sound design on “Don’t You” is something to be admired, tapping somewhere into the analogue synth music revival that’s been rankling electronic music’s fringes for the past few years. The persistent and and jerky two-note organ melody that outlines the track’s angular frame occasionally congeals into gorgeous rays of synthetic sunlight before leaving the bare rhythm to convulse in solitude. The best of both worlds, the track gracefully alternates between sections of dense extravagance and bare bones thrust. But if that isn’t ethereal enough for you, Scuba provides a hell of a flight with his SCB-helmed remix. All but pulling out the bottom end out for a psychedelic techno hallucination, bits and pieces of the original float in through invisible cracks, appearing in exaggerated form before vanishing just as suddenly. Continuing with the theme of echoed chords and workmanlike percussion, it’s a pleasant expansion on the established SCB sound, and nicely rounds out a release that shows considerable promise not only for George FitzGerald but even for the label’s boss himself.