justindemus - Jackknife EP

justindemus

Jackknife EP
self-released; 2014

3.4 out of 5

By Matt Jensen 

I don’t have much info about justindemus but I do know his real name is Justin and he’s a design student living in Chicago. He tinkers around with samples and sounds that end up making electronic music. His latest release entitled Jackknife points to someone who has a natural ear for disparate sounds and is able is transform them into inventive songs. The four songs on the EP are hypnotic, trance-like that you can see someone zoning out to on the dance floor.

One thing that needs to be mentioned is that he will probably want to team up with an engineer if he wants take his music to the next level. The songs contained too much digital distortion, high frequencies and his vocals didn't always fit nice and snug into the mix. 

The first song entitled “Acid” can be compared to artists like Panda Bear and Four Tet. The Panda Bear influence comes mostly from the vocal style. I was impressed by the palette of sounds as he wasn’t afraid to insert dissonant elements into the mix. 

“Shuicide” starts off sounding like something you expect from The Knife. It contains tribal electronic infused drums, which get wrapped around with a range of sounds that ends up sounding like a chaotic veil of white noise. He repeats the phrase “It’s a one, two, three, four, shuicide.”

“Carnage” is the track that is most likely to be played at an Ecstasy filled club. My mind went to The Field when drawing comparisons as he layers ethereal sounds on top of repetitive electronic beats. He closes strong with “Strones,” which contained his catchiest vocal melodies.

Justindemus still needs to do some refining and tweaking before he can compete with some of the artists I mentioned in the review but I think if he keeps at it, gets the mixes to sound better and infuses a bit more of his own essence it’s in the realm of possibility. Overall, all four songs were enjoyable and I recommend Jackknife.

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