Liminal Sounds announced their arrival back in January with a series of cutting edge takes on Youngstar's iconic 'Pulse X' from the cream of up-and-coming grime-leaning producers that turned heads the world over. Although they've had to wait a little while, their latest foray is equally as exciting, with Arctic, fresh from releasing his debut 'Shook' EP with me at Coyote, presenting the 5-track 'Three Stripes' EP.
What I've always admired about Arctic is his ability to turn his hand to a multitude of styles without losing an ounce of credibility; with Shook he demonstrated his flair for making high-end 8 bar grime but Three Stripes gives a more well-rounded overview of just what he's capable of. 'Off Peak' for example, eski breakdowns aside, sounds more in line with some of the rolling club stompers Artifact has come with over the last year, whilst 'Seeps', to quote Oli Grant, 'sounds like robots lightsaber duelling in a k-hole' - I couldn't really put it much better myself.
Title track Three Stripes sees a return to more familiar grime banger territory, although, in similar fashion to Seeps, pushes that unique, de-constructed, almost disjointed style that Arctic manages to work so well into every track. His use of vocal rips is also always remarkably on point. The VIP cut of Off Peak also makes a welcome addition whilst Breen, himself one of 2013's most exciting breakthrough producers, does all sorts of damage with his fiery, 8-bar rework of Three Stripes.
All in all, a great outing for Liminal and one that will enhance the reputations of both label and artist. Chuffed for them both.
Three Stripes is out August 5th on both 12'' and digital.
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