With one album and a soundtrack out this year, it’s a wonder Oneohtrix Point Never even has time for more music. This new EP plays with concepts of ambient music while slowly bending the definition of that Oneohtrix Point Never’s sound really is. Though it’s not always energetic or distinctly of their own sound, this is a fun break for Oneohtrix Point Never.
Each track on this EP inhabits its own unique world, and brings out a sense of ambiance that really makes the record stand out. “Love In The Time Of Lexapro” is itself a slow-burning tumble of hooks and moody breaks, where each section starts to wash together until a distinct centre comes out of the haze. With a fiery synth line, the track really starts to shape up, and its beats only drive this further. In the crawl of these heavy arrangements, the whole composition comes together in one giant climactic push.

There’s an utter lack of melody to “Last Known Image of A Song” however that lets Oneohtrix and Ryuichi Sakamoto really play with the world of ambient sound in an unnerving way. Through horror-score like beads and a menacing wails of sound, the track holds onto a loose base while constantly hitting you with another strange hit of noise. Though it won’t be the most popular track on the record, there’s something oddly intriguing to it. “Thank God I’m A Country Girl” hovers along with loose hooks, as each of its keyboard lines dance together. Simple and short the track often floats more than it chases any particular feeling.

“Babylon” cries out as a notably (Sandy) Alex G track, as virtually nothing on the track resembles the rest of the EP, until the end. As a disparate folk track the song is constantly questioning the world around it, and chugging along with its guitars. It’s when it falls into existential groans that the disintegrating production from Oneohtrix comes out to make the track haunting again.

Words by Owen Maxwell