- Bells, the 12-inch Hodge released in collaboration with Pev on Punch Drunk earlier this year, marked a turning point. Though his earlier records on Deadplate and Well-Rounded were perfectly good singles, they fell short of being spectacular. Bells was the record that made me sit up and take real notice of Hodge, and his first solo release on Peverelist's label delivers on the promise that's been bubbling for the last couple of years.
"Resolve," a piece of heavyweight dubwise techno shot through with the revivalist jungle influence that's been so prevalent of late, is among the best things Hodge has released. Moody synth lines echo in deep space and glass smashes, the spookiness amplified by a rush of drums. The tension between the suspenseful spaces and percussive onslaughts make it seem both elegant and blunted. Its careening motion is subdued slightly on "Prototype Fear." The gloomier pace is offset by a web of restless rhythms and an undulating bassline that sometimes leaps out the track, the whole thing monolithic but teeming with contained energy.
TracklistA Resolve
B Prototype Fear