Devras Plexi and Justin Case Lotus Eaters Bricolage Records | The Electro Review

Devras Plexi and Justin Case
Lotus Eaters
Bricolage Records
Out: 2nd August


Justin Case and Devras Plexi contain a dynamic between them that manifests in a stunning double artist album. Although these two producers come from different places geographically and musically, the combination of their energies on one release replies with something rather splendid. All the way from Texas, Devras Plexi is well known for creating thick and viscous experimentica while Glasgow's Justin Case produces a unique take on disturbed house and techno. Rolling out this release with back to back mirrors of origin gives us not only a stereo sound experience but one of creative intent portioned through the medium of time.


The album starts with a burst of sunny bells. Distortion and static crisp the edges while a sturdy beat plunges in to form the backbone. Abstract harmonies spatter the walls as glistening tones reverberate and chime with rhythmic motion. Reverse drums and looped melodic frills clump together in uniform yet loose and malleable bars. Coral Rose by Devras Plexi opens up the book with an exciting edge of colourful musicality and beats. Next, punchy synth tones waft out from the space between tracks. Smash sounds crunch in the distance like rolling freight trains before a funky rhythm bursts through. Synthesiser chords match the jumping mid-range and bring out a steady bass groove. Vocals make an appearance, reviving a humanistic and emotional sense. Passaic Formation by Justin Case throbs with a fun and kinetic atmosphere.


It's followed by plucky tones and jaggedy beats which bounce on spongy surfaces. A higher tone pushes on through and lights up the room. Distorted rhythms and frantic expressions on percussive sounds muddle with slow moving and dreaming notes, soaring on currents of irregular air. D.P.'s Orange Forest feels like wandering down a sunny lane on a sweltering hot day. J.C's Eat The Rich begins on a spacious beat. It crawls across the wide area with revolving tom-toms and clappy hats. A springy beat snakes in underneath, giving a mattress to the atmospheric melodies. A warbling bubble synth tone swells like loosely fitting clothes around the waist of the piece, tingling drums and jerky percussion play keepy-uppy with the direction of the mix. This epic transition of flow has real progression, gradual and at the speed of evolution, new areas of intent find themselves slowly becoming a focus for more energy.


Blippy sonics create a helium balloon of silvery shine that swoops across the top of our vision. Steady and intuitive drumming crafts a niche within crunchy and slightly broken waveforms. As more sounds add their flavour, the mix becomes ever more present and wanting to be peeled. A twisting melody on worming synths enters, moving the undergrowth in rhythmic lifts of reverse entropy. This is Blu Phi, it swims like an ocean and twists like a galaxy. Colubriform follows from this. Justin Case returns with yet more manic beats and sonic architecture. Swirling undercurrents of rhythmic tone bring a river of rapids and splashing expressions of this amplified reality. Drilling electronic notes pick up the pieces and throw them skyward before space-age wallowing dapples of sound merge with the flow.


It's replaced by Relational, another delve into the crucible of digital. Electronic tones and blipping chimes ring out like a clock striking the hour. The tune grows and branches out like fractal explorations. Fluffy rhythms layer on top giving a bouncy soft feeling about the composition. The bells and wood drums clamber together for spaces on the picnic blanket while sweet scented clouds of perfume well in the sunny valley. Next, a deep and resonant bass swoops in with far reaching depth. Wobbly decay on the strike makes the pitch waver like air working its way down a plastic drainpipe. More strange swirling and metallic future sounds fly in like spacecraft in neat formations. Lost in a realm of digitality, the track forms abstract and surging intentions of music as it breaks free and revs up into another gear. Foot moving bass lines with strobe lighting hand movements on the top side allow for a hedonistic foray into high energy electronica.


Westrive is after #Ulysses, it starts with abstract bells and a walking pace. It's as if we're back on that sunny path once more, this time the scenery is a bit different. Happy faces and interesting sculptures mark various locations in the composition while slowly moving clouds give and take a solar glare. A simple rhythm is garnished with extra elements in slight meanderings of the dial while the repeating motif makes a hypnotic dose of shoegazing. It finishes with Justin Case's Byzantine. Airy melody creeps from the shadows like candlelit parades of spectral entities. A rhythm forms, like dew on the morning bracken it gathers then dissipates once more into the sky. A new zone is found, a deep, punchy bass with heavy drums to match penetrates the fairytale with realism and basement feels. The two sides of the coin merge with the ensuing bars, bringing out a duality of inside and outside into being.


Ten tracks with alternating duel artists works a special kind of magic that we don't get to hear very often. The semblance of sounds gives a sudden and interesting two sided street to explore, taken at our own pace as many times as we want to.


Justin Case is on Bandcamp


Devras Plexi is on Soundcloud


and Bandcamp


You can get Lotus Eaters from Bricolage on Bandcamp


Support The Electro Review by downloading the best PC games at unbeatable insider prices! Go now. ​