Epsie

Dutch upstart Epsie pulls a rabbit, or maybe a Roland, from the hat with Rule of Thumb, a debut EP that’s as wobbly and wide eyed as a warehouse party at the early morning hours. It’s a small marvel of mangled synth wizardry and chopped-to-hell drum patterns that somehow stay locked tighter than your last three day weekend. There’s a charming messiness to it all.

“Fedde” kicks things off with a percussive punch to the frontal lobe, big-room bravado laced with a subtle wink. “Electric” takes a left turn down acid alley, tripping over a broken beat and landing in a puddle of molten 303 line. But nothing here feels tacked on or stitched together post-hangover; it’s all curiously cohesive, like chapters in a fever dream authored by a bedroom producer with a dusty sequencer and an interstellar agenda.

Nostalgic without being derivative, danceable without chasing a trend, Rule of Thumb is fit for all forms of dancing, and the roof tops that dare to hold it.