George FitzGerald - The Let Down / Weakness

Artist: George FitzGerald
Title: The Let Down/Weakness
Label: Hotflush Two
Catalog #: HFT012
Genre: Bass/UK Garage/Dubstep
Release Date: June 28, 2010
Rating: 7

George FitzGerald's "The Let Down / Weakness" builds upon Hotflush Two's dreamy blend of UK garage, dubstep and house. FitzGerald, like labelmates James Blake and Joy Orbison, makes bass music with genuine pop appeal that far exceeds the tacky crossover of Rusko. It's a bit smooth for my liking but it makes up for it in impact - the Hotflush crew are masters of both bass pressure and dramatic tension. 

"The Let Down" features a filtered pad floating in a galaxy populated by percussion comets with blurry delay tails. Disregarding the diva vocals, the production sounds closer to Drake than Burial - lush digital perfection.

FitzGerald's sounds are physically satisfying, the pad in "Weakness" seems to brush your eardrum with its immaculately filtered white noise. The vocal editing resembles James Blake's work bending r&b into an altogether different shape. The quivering sawtooth has a trancey quality that would be overwhelming in a peak time set. 

The production on "The Let Down / Weakness" is beautifully detailed . Despite the similarity of FitzGerald to his Hotflush labelmates, his debut is a solid contribution to the burgeoning hybrid of bass music and pop. 

-Alex Talan

Tracks:

A) The Let Down

B) Weakness