Svetlana Industries follow their second EP in a year from Kelpe with what might be seen as a departure. Tropics aka Chris Ward first appeared on Planet Mu in 2011, following up two EPs with the album 'Parodia Flare'. Commended by Pitchfork for his lush soundscapes and hazy pop, what's clear with Tropics is that he listens to a lot of dance music and he cares about production values. The synth and beat programming is as competent as anything out there, and he avoids lazy indie stylings and one button Bontempi organ beats - his are crafted songs, much of the pleasure lying in his gift for dynamic arrangement, which is a joy amid rafts of 'useful' formulaically assembled house tracks. In common with the general post-financial collapse vibe there is less sunshine in this EP than before, and he's absorbed something from a year of intensive house music listening, but Chris's essential qualities remain a forward-looking wistfulness, hope beneath melancholy, something even more acutely needed now than before. Lead track 'Popup Cinema' is an ear worm. Hinging on a melancholy vocal couplet over a simple chord sequence on Rhodes, this one is all about the arrangement, building and growing the song until, over the space of six minutes, it's become a banger right under your nose. 'Invitation' is upbeat and coated in an '80s sheen, calling to mind the sunshine pop textures of John Talabot or even Phoenix, blended with the kind of electro funk feel you might find on a record by Rufus or The System, with the orchestral stabs mercifully replaced by cut up elements of Tropics' own voice. 'Ophelia' is a mini epic, a strong vocal melody combined with a crafted fully realized arrangement, the kind of thing that actually rewards repeated listening. The mood is wistful, the lyrics urging us to seize the moment, before moving into a middle section driven by analogue synths woven over a vocal wash. Finally, Kelpe's remix of 'Popup Cinema' is one of the best things he's ever done, taking on board the more organic elements in Tropics original, and combining them with his own tougher, tighter sound on the organ and the kick, chopping and scattering the vocal, before finally dropping the vocal hook 2.5 minutes into the tune. 110 BPM is in that underexploited little segment between house and hip hop, and it's a zone where Kelpe has established his own rhythmic template, overlaying that here to add new momentum to the tune.
