[Drugs]
Sometimes it’s the very simplest of ideas that grab your attention immediately. Long, complex, musical ruminations are all very good for the chin stroking set who are happy to while away hours discussing their finer merits, but the majority are going to be captured right away by clear, bold ideas. Outwardly this is what D/R/U/G/S present us with on their first release; broad brush strokes of vivid color over three tracks that are all immediately engaging and make use of uncomplicated, lucid melodies. The more digital minded among you may have already come across the work of the one-man outfit of D/R/U/G/S, Callum Wright, as the “Love/Lust” single did the Internet rounds last year, clocking up a few remixes along the way as well as plenty of attention from indie kids all lauding the emergence of a new electronic “band.” The original of “Love/Lust” together with several remixes are available free over at Wright’s blog, though the vinyl release on Moshi Moshi offshoot Tender Age marks the release proper of the single, backed with two equally solid tracks on the B-side, “Velodrome I” and “Velodrome II.”
Listening to “Love/Lust,” it’s clear to see why Wright is garnering attention from indie kids; the plucked strings that make up the main melody, coupled with reversed harmonica sounds and distorted, lower-end guitars all fuel the feel of there being a real band potentially at work. The melodies careen between euphoric and plaintive, giving “Love/Lust” a romantic sheen that is further embellished with the addition of a short, repeated female vocal that appears in the latter half. With the track only reaching its full scope around the four minute mark, it feels unjustly abridged when it wraps up just one minute later, something that is even made more aware when fitting the track into a DJ set.
On the flip side the two “Velodrome” tracks are cut largely from the same cloth as “Love/Lust.” The melodies are kept fairly simple and have an unpretentious air about them that could easily win over fans of house, techno, progressive house and trance. “Velodrome I” comes across as the most accomplished, mature sounding effort from Wright as he works the different elements of the track beautifully against each other, and somehow keeps the whole track sounding quite understated despite the big room feel of the sounds employed. “Velodrome II” somehow manages to straddle a line between house and techno while incorporating components of trance and a feeling of rave into the track. If that sounds disjointed, the result is anything but, the disparate factors all working together in a Balearic harmony. As Wright has said himself of his music, “I know how I want my tracks to feel but I don’t know how to get there. That struggle is what you hear, that’s the music.” With his sonic experiments sounding as good as this it will be very interesting to hear what he comes up as he learns more about his craft.
