I love writing about um.. because they always present me a new challenge. It’s seriously never a dull moment with these two and I absolutely love it. As a writer, you’ve always got to have something to keep you on your toes and challenging your skills, and if that’s um.. for me, then so be it.
“tic tac” is purportedly the “first song we ever made”, but it doesn’t show. It shines with just as much weirdness as anything else they’ve put out so far. In this one track you’ve got a didgeridoo, a rooster, modulated chimes, tribal drums, and a glitchy lead synth, and that’s really it. The rest of the track is composed completely by the odd sound design that um.. is known and blessed for.
I’m about to lay down some truths right now so listen up: um.. is the best thing to happen to electronic music this year. Their sound design is weird, yet still palatable, something that Aphex Twin falls short of. Their use of sampling is something Mark Ronson would be proud of. Their oddity is something that Skrillex would do well to sign to OWSLA immediately. I’m not entirely sure what any kind of long-form release from these two would sound like, but we’re going to find out anyway in May when they drop their debut EP.
If you can’t make it out to Coachella this weekend, find yourself in Los Angeles, and still feel like turning up on a Saturday, you can catch um.. playing Brokechella in DTLA on the Shifty Rhythms stage at 3pm. Tickets are still only $20 if you buy them before 11:59:59pm on April 17th, and they’re only $25 at the door. Get your tickets here.