Untold
HEK036
Hemlock
Jack Dunning’s music as Untold has become synonymous with the darkest corners of the dubstep and post-dubstep world. It’s a shorthand for deconstructed club music made to soundtrack apocalyptic cities where sunlight is a distant memory. That’s why HEK036 is such a curveball. Dunning’s first EP in seven years is surprisingly light on its toes. Dare I say, it’s even a bit goofy?
I mean this in a good way. Untold’s music has always been minimal, but there are some shades of actual mnml on “Prince Rupert’s Drop”—the clicky bleeps and blops over the garage shuffle calls to mind producers like Christian Jay or Alec Falconer who fuse 2-step with minimal. On the absolutely gorgeous “Perfect! And Here’s Why It Matters,” the slanted melodies and occasional sweep of pads remind me of Thomas Melchior’s more sub-heavy releases on Perlon. Perhaps the biggest curveball is “Good Shoelaces.” It’s built around loose jazz percussion that slips in and out of time and some minor-key synth work, but even with its eerie melody, the vibe is way more Unsound than soundsystem.
The final two tracks, “It’s Not My Fault but It Is My Problem” and “Dogfooding,” are both vintage Untold (the former is a particularly banging tune), and they are also excellent. But it’s this new side of Dunning that makes this EP a real treat.
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