If you miss when big-room drops actually knocked you back a step, “Time Machine” is aimed squarely at you. H93 and Vandal Rock turn in a rave-techno hybrid on Revealed that pairs a driving techno pulse with a genuinely enormous festival drop, and the title is doing exactly what it says on the tin. The build is all flashing-lights tension, a riser that goes on just long enough to become unbearable in the good way, before it slams into a lead that sounds like a klaxon with a personal grudge. There’s a rave-stab sequence in the second half pulled straight out of a 1994 warehouse, and dropping it into a modern techno frame is the entire hook. The techno pulse running underneath keeps it from tipping into pure cheese, giving the drop a spine that the old big-room stuff never bothered to grow. This is muscle music for a big dark room and an even bigger sound system. I put it on too loud in headphones and briefly regretted my ears. That’s a recommendation.
January
Chrome Daydream
Chrome stars, jelly hearts and holographic colour. A nod to the glossy, optimistic graphics of the early web.