Christopher Rau - Mehris Mood - Smallville

Smallville Records follow that excellent STL long player by ushering in the welcome return of Christopher Rau for his first release of note on the Hamburg label since his second LP Two back in 2012. Rau has of course remained relatively busy in this interim period with some records for the likes of Office, Junkyard and Derive Schallplatten, but it's always a pleasure to see a SMALLVILLE cat no attached to his name. The three track Mehris Mood is as dreamy and abstracted as you would expect; the title track for example contains enough bump to drive any dancefloor but the hi hats are caked in fuzz and there's the most sumptuous set of chords at the core. "Friends" is similarly hypnotic, the emphasis of the production weaving between rhythm and melody with aplomb, but "Cherry Jam" might just be the best thing here. Drums and key samples appear to poised in diametrically opposite directions, given the track a curious groove that's reminiscent of so much Chris Rau.