A sturdy sound is bolstered by forays into other electronic styles on this captivating, futuristic release

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When an artist wants to make something sound futuristic, it is easy to fall back on reliable tropes. Synths caked in reverb to simulate some uncertain but intimidating expanse, foreboding melodies conveying a cold future detached from organic or human life. Though these characteristics serve a purpose, they are used frequently and, over time, have lost the sheen that they once had. Genres like synthwave have retro sci-fi vision of the future covered (dated, but immortalised forever) and future garage offers the hallowed rainy metropolis aesthetic. It takes talent and vision to create something truly original. eventual infinity’s Deep Cover offers exactly this.‍

eventual infinity’s trademark style and ability to offer tidy-yet-daring electronic sounds is evident throughout. For example, Mainframe could almost fit onto the artist’s previous release departure if it wasn’t for the chugging bass, a general sense of determined adventurousness replacing the tranquil holiday vibe of the artist’s last outing. Similarly, Dead or Alive has the strong electronic backbone listeners have come to expect with stabbing sci-fi vocaloid notes. These veer off into synth notes accented by clattering delay and tight kick drums supporting them. 

It is the moments that employ other, more unexpected styles of electronic music that really steal the show. The album’s introductory song Saboteur channels a big dubstep force in its fat marching bass sounds, while its main melody seems to take lessons from the dreamy trance of the late Robert Miles and uses the classic shakuhachi sample made popular in many older dance genres. These references provide a sense of adventure right from the beginning, packaged up nicely in eventual infinity’s confident production style.

Things ratchet up relentlessly on Final Heaven as huge bass impacts unleash a knuckle-whitening energy. Spitting with resonance like a full-force gabber bass, they combine with the artist’s clean style to create a PC Music-esque song. At points, the ear-catching bassline skulks moodily in the background like a serpentine boss in a video game. Rather than plaster the sound all over the place, the strategic use of it makes it a more dynamic aspect of the song. Things continue at this intensity with the raw and unfaltering drum and bass excursion Light Speed. Glittering glissando keys burn up against razor-sharp breakbeats. From here, things get a little more chilled but no less interesting, particularly on Detach, where we find a solid but dizzying feeling communicated through whirring dubstep bass and slushy percussion. 

Pulling together a number of styles in a cohesive release, Deep Cover is not only an engaging listen, but also a massive achievement for the artist. Such varied tones and moods are almost impossible to run consecutively to each other, though they fit seamlessly here. The fact that the release is so great is a testament to eventual infinity’s vision and production talents.