[Convex Industries]

Jon Convex grew up in a video rental store. A seemingly irrelevant fact, but one which makes absolute musical sense given that the four tracks on this EP sound like the kind of music that should be playing when a cop has to give chase into the dark recesses of a sleazy club in any number of late-80s action flicks. Seedy, pumping, scowling electronic music, bereft of frills and infused with a twitchy cocaine swagger is what you’re getting here. And where the rest of his Idoru LP (from which these tracks are taken) touches on areas including dubby techno and fractured pop, these four tracks are downright mean. “What I Need” is a driving electro-infused number featuring the supple pitch-bent vocals of dBridge (in his Velvit guise). The emphasis here is on a very pure and unpretentious danceability — strictly no excess baggage to declare. The mid-section features a gearshift into old-school, hardcore-style pads before returning to brisk business.

“Aversion” is a rather different beast, plowing looser and techier fare. In fact, it does sound rather like Joy Orbison & Boddika’s much-rotated “Mercy,” with a notably similar tick-tock bass line and swung 4/4. But that said, it’s an altogether looser affair than the aforementioned and will no doubt curry favor among those who like their techno infectiously cavernous. “Desolation” is the nastiest track here. A vicious and off-kilter drum pattern joined by twanging sci-fi bass stabs and a disquieting alien vibe, ably enhanced by creepy synth swells. “Four Faces,” meanwhile, patrols the block with rollicking percussive nuance and a brutal drop. The stabs that come in after three minutes are particularly effective — mournful and surprising. A final word here on the mastering: Convex tracks are loud — really loud. No mean thing, but watch those gains. Jon Convex has delivered four tracks here that bristle with energy, sex, and power. Like I said, it’s an 80s thing.