There’s a moment near the two-thirds mark where the drums drop out entirely and Gracie Van Brunt’s vocal hangs alone for a bar before Tantrum Desire slam everything back in, and it’s the best three seconds on the track. “Lift You Up” is festival drum and bass made by people who’ve been engineering it long enough to make it look effortless. The build is enormous, the drop is bright and clean, and Van Brunt’s topline is exactly the kind of thing ten thousand people scream back without ever learning the verse. Tantrum Desire have a real gift for the euphoric side of dnb that never tips into cheese, which is a narrow beam to walk. This one stays firmly on the right side of it. The low end has actual grit under all the sparkle, so it hits your body and not only your feelings. I put it on during a grim Tuesday commute and briefly forgot I was on a bus surrounded by strangers. That’s the entire pitch, really. Sunrise-set drum and bass for people who like to feel things at unreasonable volume.
January
Chrome Daydream
Chrome stars, jelly hearts and holographic colour. A nod to the glossy, optimistic graphics of the early web.