No sphere of music has more genre padres, underappreciated geniuses, or DJ auteurs than dance. So it's refreshing to know there are young guns in the game: A Slave's Commitment is the debut LP from 21-year-old, Amsterdam-based Pascal Terstappen for the venerable Traum label. Released as Applescal (get it?), Terstappen's A Slave's Commitment arrives after just one 12" on Traum earlier this year (he also has four EPs to his name on different labels). A humid, pattering imagining of Traum's glittery, spiked dance music, A Slave's Commitment promises more than it delivers while announcing Terstappen's presence.
A Slave's Commitment introduces not just a new artist, but new music as well: It features 11 exclusive Applescal tracks and a remix of Local Daddy's "Sjeesh Up". Terstappen seems deeply committed to the album as a form, as Commitment feels more than balanced (in fact, its back half is somewhat superior) and the vocals that close the "Sjeesh Up" remain the only hiccup in Terstappen's woozy, compressed world.
It's a world built out of electronic sounds that will be familiar to fans of crossover electronic acts of the past few years. The strident, deliberate melodicism of late-90s Warp Records (the Boards of Canada-indebted "The Forms of Abstract Life"), the trance-like pop repetitions of the Field ("The History of Love"), and the skybound synth-tronica of M83 ("Nottingham Hobbits") are all reference points. This isn't to damn Terstappen's credentials, however-- Commitment is sturdier and more beat-conscious than any of the above acts' records.
Despite his oft-warm soundscapes, Terstappen has a bit of a bend to him. "In the Mirror" begins with a bass rumble and unadorned beat before adding a creeping minor-key melody, giving the track strange, noir-ish grit. "Funk & FC" exhibits a paranoid, skittish streak that borders on the most coherent and clear-eyed strands of (gasp) IDM. Commitment's standout track is "How Heroes Die", which behaves almost like a rock song from the flat, machinated snaps of its opening moments. From there: gorgeous, hill-like synth patches, pulses that drift over what might be a bridge, and a gorgeous, ascendant convergence of these elements before a slow fade. It's a familiar formula, and cynics might note that this kind of major-key hope-stirring (ignore the song title) is a little bit like hitting baseballs off a tee, but damn if Terstappen doesn't swing hard.
There are less inspired moments: the tech-y "Ugly But Nasty" mostly lives up to its title and, at over eight minutes, does so for a long time. The Local Daddy remix is an odd choice for a rookie showcase, its vocals obtrusive and weird (could've been a great B-side). Committing to an album format makes a lot of sense for Terstappen, as Applescal is unlikely to thump on dancefloors. Moreover, Commitment plays evenly, even if no one would complain about an EP of remixes and extended edits of "How Heroes Die" or "Nottingham Hobbits". Commitment would be better if it were weirder and more singular, but for now, Terstappen's waxy, roomlit beats make for fine evening companions.
