[Perlon]

It’s been a quiet beginning to 2009 for the esteemed Perlon label. In fact, they haven’t been heard from since the October 2008 release of the CD version of Ricardo Villalobos’ Vasco project, itself made up mainly of material previously released on vinyl. Blame it on the economy if you must, but there’s no questioning the musical landscape has shifted during Perlon’s silence as the dance universe moves further and further away from minimal tech-house of the last few years in favor of other sounds: dubstep, deep house, and others. While the label’s (and Matt John’s) first release of 2009 certainly won’t bring about any sort of widespread revival, it slips on like a comfortable old shoe or worn-in sweatshirt and reminds us what a reliable and quality label Perlon is.

“Radio Self” bounces along to a straightforward tech-house beat-and-bass combo and soon peppers in various loopy analog riffs that recall classic Chicago acid work. A simple riff heading straight at your head here and a de-tuned hi-hat there go a long way, and the various pieces and parts rest comfortably next to one another as they gain momentum towards no particular payoff whatsoever: an ascending keyboard run turned unnaturally loud in the mix is the closest thing the track gets to a climax. This may be a club track in the most basic way, but its infectious parts and always-surprising deployment of sounds keep it from being a boring, strictly tracky affair. On the flip, “Sacing” fuses a bubbling bass line with finger-poppin’ rhythms and a handful of overlapping vocal loops to come a bit closer to a deep-house sound, again in the vintage Chicago mold. There are definite Windy City influences at work here, but ultimately these are Perlon tracks, deftly skating between house and techno with space and style. These tunes certainly don’t reinvent the wheel, nor do they try to, but they show that in the hands of gifted producers, minimal tech-house has some life left in it yet.