If, like us, you’re already completely converted to the Icee Hot sound then it will neither surprise nor disappoint to learn the imprint’s first cut of 2014- and the first time bosses have called upon the talents of fellow San Francisco resident Avalon Emerson- is raw, unabashed and aimed straight for the jugular. So long as the jugular is located close to a great party.
Amongst the most consistently impressive aspects of the label’s output are the remixes, resulting in a back catalogue of EPs that boast quality from A1 to B2, and the same can safely be said here. As per, the various versions are clearly re-interpretations of one another; a notion particularly evident when you listen to Quoi!‘s original, then the Tuff City Kids Clean Shave re-rub, with both bouncing along beneath a flurry of vocal stabs and loops, before the Tuff City Kids Rusty Blade version kicks in with its heavier emphasis on the acidic accents of its predecessor.
That’s not a problem, though, and realistically each has enough of an individuality that the trio could easily be played together to great effect- reflecting and amplifying different aspects of the inaugural blueprint. A recommendation, make no mistake, this still leaves the question of the other title tune, Pressure, which (in our humble opinion) is the jewel in this particular crown. An upfront, vocally-dominated feet and fist assault, there’s a shade of Robert Hood’s Floorplan moniker to the whole affair. Techno for everyone, not just blokes with gritted teeth, like an adrenalin shot to the system, it’s definitely one to blow away the cobwebs of last year, and caps of an essential release.
