[New Kanada]

Montreal producer Tazz’s take on dance music is both powerful and quirky, characteristics that have endeared him to a wide range of fans. Pinning him down much further is a harder task. Tazz tends to lay down straight-laced, tech-house rhythms, but his growing arsenal of synth sounds lend his tracks a more experimental edge. Science Friction is his second effort for Adam Marshall’s New Kanada, and it finds him in typical form.

“Science Friction” is like a sustained engine rev, as its muscular kicks are augmented by a pumping bass line and rousing synthetics. While it maintains a linear progression, its climax in dramatically boisterous synth horns is reward enough. Like its predecessor, “Piano Kinesis” moves at a quick clip, and its rhythm is underscored by a buzzsaw bass line that seems perennially on the verge of slipping into liquid abstraction. On top, the producer tangles wonky bursts of synthesizer and keys, which lead the track to a shuffling finale, punctuated by stabby bits of acid. Finally, Presk’s oddball remix of “Piano Kinesis” reorders bits of the original amid kinetic kick and snare arrangements. Following an out-of-place Eski-esque synth, the producer launches into an almost comically rambunctious main section led by cranky synth patterns. The results remind of nebulously Eastern European party scenes in movies, the sort in which someone is deliriously carried around a room while their companions chant, “Hey! Hey! Hey!” It’s possible Presk was room-spinning drunk while making it. That said, Tazz’s originals stand as some of his most confident work to date.