• Grainy and distorted for aggression
• A touch of dark and intense backdrop
• Pertains to a simpler Bass House format
Bold decisions in music-making business is rarer to see nowadays, but often I find names on the extensive Friday list to cite for their eccentric signatures that radiates raw talent. “Closer Tonight” happens to be one such. This is a track that can easily be overlooked, however upon giving it a close listen I decided that there is more to than it meets the eye. Meet Saint Punk, an American act who has devoted his experienced skill-set to carve a niche and blur the boundaries of Rock and Electronic (one that has gained greater attention in the past few years, thanks to other reputed figures in the scene).
Making his first appearance (with the current alias) in the Bass House imprint Confession barely with a self-titled EP about two years ago, the LA denizen has done a lot of legwork in the studio, earning him coveted releases in various imprints like Monstercat, Armada, Hexagon; to name a few. Catapulting among the esteemed ranks seems near impossible in couple of rotations around the sun, but Saint Punk has his formula: an intense mixture between the genre of Grunge and House, which takes the former’s vigorous attitude and injects it in an energetic four by four arrangement of the latter. What occurs after this is a zealous tonic of gritty synth-presence, almost emphasizing its lo-fi type (not the relaxing kind, mind you) soundscape with further modulations to make it distinctive. A closer reference to this type would be Joyryde, whose sound has similar twisted characteristics and perhaps seems to be an inspiration for the mentioned artist.
Now there, that being explained, we have the instrumental to talk about. An ominous atmosphere is etched from the beginning, with wandering pad sounds and haunting strings in the backdrop. A pitched down vocal from an anonymous singer complies to this theme, as a simplistic riser transitions (a refreshing take without snares over-hyping) the calmness to a riff-raff of distorted sounds. In this particular batch, we have striking bass-hits prancing along with equally contorted vocal snippets albeit to a slower BPM, say mid 120s. Again, my appreciation increased for the minimal application shown here, not a crowded performance of glitchy FXs or over-powering low-end. A brassy synth enters the equation in a later phase to carry the groove, adding variety to the already peculiar collection of elements here. The grainy texture can be off-putting to some, but it suits the style intended in the first place.
If by some means you were inclining towards head-nodding strongly to something strong this weekend, then “Close Tonight” provides aplenty. Saint Punk has struck on a definite blueprint that has immense potential, and this song functions as a notable admission to his already tenacious discography.
What do you think?
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