- Jason Letkiewicz is the sort of artist who revels in techno's anonymity, picking up a new name and a new game whenever it suits him. He churns out funky house as Malvoeaux, and explores analog Detroit darkness as half of Two Dogs in a House. Letkiewicz's third EP under his Steve Summers guise showcases a devoted exploration of the sound first pioneered by Larry Heard in 1986. In fact there's enough of a soundalike factor that at times it smacks of lost tapes from Heard's bottom drawer.
All your favorite first-wave Chicago tropes are in full effect: The warm caress of an analog bubblebath, those crunchy drums, those silvery synths, the flurries of handclaps, melodies whose roll and wobble bear that human-played soul. Title cut "Lucid Fingers" has a strong dose of punchy snare rushes and melodic trade-off between plinks and pads, and its follower "Deep Necking" is a close cousin.
While both A-siders are adroitly cut, the record's second half is arguably stronger, where Jason/Steve allows himself a bit more breathing room. A dark turn is taken on "Seeing Things," which true to its name invokes an android plagued by Casio-colored hallucinations, plonky 8-bit riffs fighting off spectral strings and some unholy circuit-skronk. And the standout "What Do You Think You Feel" encapsulates why the record is a success: It doesn't turn towards classic sounds in order to follow in their footsteps, but in order to feel the same pulse, the same dreamy tug on the heartstrings.
Tracklist A1 Lucid Fingers
A2 Deep Necking
B1 Seeing Things
B2 What Do You Think You Feel