Cloak & Dagger - Crimewaves / In the Cut

Cloak & Dagger (ne Evan Gach) makes the transition to slower tempos on this great 12" for the Immerse imprint, in contrast to his earlier work in DnB. What makes this particular release intriguing is how much of the DnB aesthetic is retained in the transition to dubstep. For one, this is a very jazzy variant of dubstep, and not the same sort of slick R&B that, say, James Blake brings to his music. Cloak & Dagger brings a more cool and austere sort of feel to the work, that high-class urban feel that a lot of great DnB had back in the day. It's also nice to hear new dubstep that isn't balls-to-the-wall obsessed with bigger and badder bass sounds. Crimewaves / In the Cut seem more concerned with interesting rhythms than the wallop of a well-placed bassline. There's a very interesting emphasis on live percussion, which is always nice to hear.

"Crimewaves" feels just like a slowed-down late 90's DnB jam, mostly due to the use of the Rhodes synth, which I personally cannot get enough of. It's incredibly evocative, to me, of downtown urban spaces, all clean, angular architecture and glass. It's great music for rainy weather. The song takes a bit of a left turn halfway through the song when a live jazz drumming session enters the proceedings. It's one of the best tracks I've heard all year, if not for innovation than for the vivid feelings it brings up. It's why I got into this music in the first place.

The second track is a little darker, with interesting, loping percussion and an understated bassline. The track doesn't go up but out, exploring variations on its few elements and making liberal use of delay to create a nice dub feel, while synths drone on top of the shuffle, giving a somber tone to the music. Great stuff.




Tracklist:
01. Crimewaves
02. In the Cut

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