Pan-Pot, Charly

As the year wanes on, I’ve briskly approached my limit for tracks with pitched-down, sinister sounding vocals. “Where We At”: Epic, poignant and hugely enjoyable all at once. “R U OK?” Musically not my bag, but I guess the scene needed something to put a little pause in the debauchery. “The Grass is Always Greener”: A bit kitschy, bordering on piss-take, and acceptable only because someone needed to put Bob Ross on wax. “Lady Judy” just makes me want to listen to “Baby Judy” and forget Jay Haze tried to rip it off.

So it was with a bit of grimace that I listened to “Charly,” the first single from Pan-O-Rama, Pan-Pot’s debut album. It’s instrumentally intriguing, especially the interplay between the deep gulps emerging every two bars and the ascending riff crawling up your spine. And there it is again — the slurred baritone delivering a monologue, this time about heroin. So instead of concentrating on the anxiety-stirring crescendo, I’m still rolling my eyes at the trite choice of vocal. Thankfully, the rest of the track is schlock-free, just jittery patterns to guide me through the last few minutes. I feel an artist can allude to drugs through their instrumental movements rather than narcotic nonsense. Perhaps Pan-Pot wasn’t just hopping aboard the affected train, but I’ve had my fill for the moment. (Feel free to jump me if I go back on my word, though; and check out Anja Schneider’s remix on the flip!)

Also, thanks to J.RA for the shout outs. Resident Advisor is nominated for best music magazine at the BT Dital Music Awards — up against NME! It would be a hoot if we won somehow, so please, do as we say in Chicago: vote early, and vote often.