[Perlon]

“Purplehummer” (or “Purplehummerultrastretch” for the superlonfragilistic) might be Sammy Dee’s solo debut for Perlon, but that factoid is a bit of a misnomer. Sammy Dee has released a decent chunk of vinyl on Perlon, as one half of Pantytec and more recently as Half Hawaii with ex-pat Bruno Pronsato. “Purplehummer” comes as no big surprise like most creatures of pedigree — fine-tuned on an already successful template. On the other hand, “Purplehummer” doesn’t sound much like last year’s Half Hawaii single “Into You / Out of You” – a single that relied on the bare insinuation of a groove to hold down the Stockhausen-like analog flickers. On his own, Sammy Dee doesn’t play the game of chicken that Half Hawaii do with silence.

Instead “Purplehummer,” like many of the best Pantytec tracks, is filled with competing threads, each unraveling at their own speed. These may include and are certainly not limited to: a novocained up robot drooling on the side, a two-note bass line melting and solidifying in the back, at least twenty differently treated drums. But “Purplehummer” is never busy or scattered – not quite rambling but something close to it. Unfortunately, the b-side “Ultrastretch” errs by being far too straightforward; the track is tame in all the spots where it should be cantankerous. Snare beg to clack, drones are left to sputter out and “Ultrastretch” never gains any steam. It definitely feels superlong in the worst way.