Art Department - Touch You Gently

Art Department
Touch You Gently
Crosstown Rebels

A simple beat punctuated by a verbed-out clap sets the stage for an intoxicating bass line to creep in and begin to “Touch You Gently.” The real magic starts to happen when the rhodes and leads wash through the track as Kenny Glasgow’s vocals begin. Beyond the bare, and truly free expression contained within the lyrics of the song, lies a layer of genius that many won’t be able to truly appreciate upon a first listen. The way in which a man’s voice can be spatially layered and treated with varying degrees of reverb in order to harmoniously compliment what began as a simple and, at times, dissonant melody is singularly impressive. Well done. The 10:35 runtime feels touch longer than necessary, but, as indicated by their decision to kick off their essential mix with it in it’s near complete entirety, the Toronto duo don’t see it as a problem.

The B-side of the release, Brennan Green’s interpretation of Art Dept’s proven original “Tell Me Why” at times feels like a step back in time. And in no way is that a bad thing. Cascading pads, frisky pianos and arpeggios set the tone for whispers of the original vocal to creep through and if you close your eyes and retract a couple thousand days and nights from your jaded soul, you might just find yourself listening to something vaguely akin to progressive house. The shuffle-y hats and 90’s-centric drum programming remind us though, that it’s the second decade of the 2000’s and it’s cool to enjoy any kind of music we want to; as long as it makes you feel good.

CRM089 ART DEPARTMENT - TOUCH YOU GENTLY by Crosstown Rebels

Listen to Art Department on Pulse Radio.