Just over a full year after the release of his direction-affirming, horror-tinged EP Color Fire, MemCave perpetuates his plunge into the deepest and densest recesses of house, jungle, and garage music with his newest offering, Glass Distortions.

Brimming with galvanic snares and claps, pointed, sanguine synth-work, abyssopelagic basslines, and glazed in the same icy, unnerving flavor MemCave has perfected, Glass Distortions is a five-song affair that points to a more confident, more focused producer with seemingly no reservations or expectations. Admirers of MemCave’s last effort will find a similar color palette brushed throughout the EP.

Opening track “Paprika” dissonantly hovers and descends for a full minute before landing in a perfectly-restrained mixture of sparkling pads, throbbing bass, and resounding bells while closer “Rally Vincent” opens the door to the Delorean and reprises one of MemCave’s most familiar samples , on loan from 2014 delight “Trapeze”. Standout track “Dizzy” elegantly and effortlessly lays detuning string plucks and cavernous piano passages over a bed of meandering swells, battling congas, and an undeniably driving rhythm section.

While the ingredients may be largely the same, MemCave has taken a year to massage the recipe and perfect the baking time. The result is a collection of songs that more clearly defines the artist’s vision and places more emphasis on cohesion and atmosphere, making Glass Distortions a standard for 2015 and a work that will assuredly bring the Kansas City producer growing attention or, if nothing else, raise the question: Did you ever think pan flute would sound so fucking cool?

-- Dustin Kniffen, Memory Network