A collection of all things dreamy, Italo and breakbeaty on the French labels second release.
Too Many Cars have been flying the flag and delving into sounds of the 80s, with a particular fondness for Italo Disco, dream house and the like. This shines through on their various EP contributions, for labels such as De La Groove and Sure Cuts, and their own imprint, Too Many Cars Records. Their 2018 compilation EP, 'Heroes', featured excellent tunes from French house maestro Too Smooth Christ, local Edinburgh hero Donald Dust, and Leon X Leon, alongside themselves. The EP shared like minds contributing to a record full of high points and glorious laser like vibes.
They continue on the tradition with their 'Heroes II' EP, that picks up where the first release left off. The first tune, 'Blue Ghost', by Kid Machine, is an excellent one, and his selection to appear on the label makes an enormous amount of sense (for he has continually explored the new Italo inspired sound - check 2016s 'Space Elite' as a starter). The tune itself is a full bodied new Italo slammer, with initial synths giving way for a deep and dirty rhythm, that provides the basis for a series of pads to do their work on top. Never stopping, always moving forward, this is a belter, and brings together an interesting blend of spaces where the initial beat and bass does its work, before giving way to a vocaless chorus, where the added synths sing for you. Up next comes Sandboards with his tune, 'Krokodile'. The breakbeat amens dance around, in refreshing fashion, quietly to begin with, before the kicks come in, perfectly placed. Following on, pads swirl around on top, giving a dreamy feel to the tune, with acid squelches finding some room between the two. Its a real nice tune, and a cool contrast to Kid Machine's contribution.
Elliot Litrowski comes next with his track 'King of the North'. A proper excursion in body movement, it starts off innocently enough, with reverbed drums kicking in, before claps signify a succulent deep bass line. This song just goes to show that less is more, with a pad coming in, adding just the lightest melody possible. Little variations in the drum programming add a extra layer of interest, particularly the claps, as the synth gets more and more prominent. Growing and growing, the groove then adds cymbals into the mix, as it cleverly seems to change the tempo. Never fear, it keeps going, don't worry! this is a track made and built for the dance floor, deep in the mix. Perhaps the best vibe on the record is saved til last, and that comes in the form of Too Many Cars' tune 'Untitled'. A Italo inspired monster, this has all the depth, all the small vocal snippets, and a euphoric, always building but never peaking synth line, that just keeps going and going to the stars and back. Striding along, a key line comes in that just adds to its intensity, before a drop to end all drops. The drums give way, leading into a little bridge where the synths just do their thing. The euphoria drips from this tune, diving deeper into a pool of feeling and vibes, that just doesn't stop going down. Then, the drums kick back into life, filtered before everything cuts out, and then everything COMES BACK IN. DAMN. Energy. Club ready banger.
All in all, Too Many Cars have curated a great vibe through their label. A strong connection between emotion and body and mind work outs thread these tunes together, giving them overall a deep feel and a great weapon to unleash in the clubs. It is very exciting to hear what they release next. Definitely more of the same please!
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https://toomanycarsrecords.bandcamp.com/music