The a-side “Red Atlantic” pairs a steady 4/4 kick with circular melodies, dreamy pads, and melancholic vocals before Cass. injects a post-punk bassline to beautiful effect.
Autarkic (Disco Halal, Golf Channel) emphasizes the disco punk elements, twisting “Red Atlantic” into a dancefloor bomb with a looping take on the bassline, an insistent horn motif and a much more off-kilter atmosphere.
On the flip, “The Voynich Manuscript” feels much closer to the best moments on Youth Sessions, Cass.’s brilliant full length on Emotional Response, slowing the tempo and pairing another pulsing live bassline with a narcotic melodic line built from woozy, pitch-shifted tones. It’s both glisteningly pretty and tripped-out.
Longtime friend and label contributor Cosmo Vitelli drags “The Voynich Manuscript” back into dancefloor territory, upping the tempo and toughening the lushness of the original into an insistent late night chugger that’s been doing the business on dancefloors for a couple months now.