REVIEW: JIMMY EDGAR

SEX DRIVE | HOTFLUSH RECORDINGS

Sonically, Jimmy Edgar’s most recent cut, “Sex Drive”, is no surprise. Overtly sexual lyrics and acid house basslines are well worn tools in the Edgar arsenal, yet “Sex Drive” manages to wrap up Edgar’s myriad musical influences into an especially digestible package. Where a track like “Switch Switch” strays far into Squarepusher-influenced acid jazz territory, and his previous cut from Majenta (“U Need Love”) exposes Detroit house roots, this new single straddles and transcends genres.

Lyrically, “Sex Drive” is equal parts macabre and sexy: “Spread your legs this wide apart\I control your beating heart\You’re the one who keeps me alive\Let’s crash this car and not revive.” Similarly, the track’s production is as smooth as it is disorienting. Behind the liquid funk of the near-off-kilter drum and bass, synth licks and static washes pull the listener left and right, sometimes literally headphone to headphone. Edgar’s experience shows here, as a relatively monotonous lyric and rhythm core of the song is nicely pulled along by punctuated bits of high-frequency manipulation.

The flipside to “Sex Drive”, contributed by Jon Convex, takes the old-school techno approach, cleverly pairing the male-female vocals overtop a hard-cruising, filtered bass groove. It is a competent offering, but the record’s B-side, John Talabot’s “In Aguirre Rework”, switches gears in an especially ear-catching manner. Somehow, the robotic becomes haunting in a Far East-inspired jigsaw reinterpretation. Edgar’s sexual tension here gets reformed into a pastiche of choral, atmosphere-focused sound.

By: James Nason