A casual coolness seeps through dulcet vocals and laidback loose funk instrumentation on this release

Familiar 70s/80s sounds land in front of the listener as Desire Path bursts into life. Instrumental and vocal layers effortlessly arranging themselves into a sturdy but slurred march as low bass notes squelch. There’s a certain swagger that the track immediately falls into, the dynamic vocals punctuating aspects of the beat and the confident bass melody joined by icy piano and trumpet sounds. The track carries an effortlessly cool vibe as it hunkers down low but stays refreshingly loose.

It is difficult to place the style. On the one hand, it shines with all the vibrancy of an original song, with well-crafted trills and syncopated rhythms. Conversely the track is filled with reference points that are reminiscent of classic sampled vaporwave. The deep husky vocals border on inaudible at points, languishing alongside the bass-y aspects of the track. The drums also seem noticeably slow, dragging the song along at a lazy pace. Desire Path floats just outside the realms of warbling dissonance, dopplering bells and other vibrant aspects striking through with a brazen confidence that sounds like its been layered over a sample of a fully-formed track.

Somehow Donor Lens achieve a synth solo that is as freeing as it is cool and collected. Sweeping in like a low-flying craft, the resonant tone of the synth stays away from showy high notes, but still provides an ornate and unbelievably chill catharsis. It is hard not to envision the keyboard player, effortlessly shooting the notes out of an aged synth with one hand fluidly moving over the keys. Funky vocals take over the undeniable rhythm that pulses through the track until the instrumentation chimes in once again.

Whether sampled or sample-free, Desire Path is overwhelmingly fun to listen to and demands movement from the listener with its rhythm. The track showcases an awareness of vaporwave and its constituting parts, but also a deep appreciation of the funky and soulful tracks that are so often used as a starting point for facets that particular genre. Once again, the duo flex their musical prowess in a way that the listener has no choice but to enjoy.