Artist: The Mole
Title: Conversations With The Past EP
Label: Wagon Repair Records
By: Antonella Sirec | 13 December 2006
Tracklist:

• A: Jingover
• B: Steady Down (Slow Chugger)

The Mole "Conversations With The Past EP"

Like most reviewers, the hardest aspect of going through the review process is when I actually have to sit down and write something that's not so nice about a release. Regardless of perceptions at hand, it's not the easiest thing to do and finding a level of diplomacy without sounding completely jaded can often be very draining. Even harder is when you listen to a track or compilation that had the fundamentals in place but the execution resulted in the end product being far more disappointing then expected. Unfortunately for 'Conversations With The Past' by The Mole, this EP falls into that category far too easily.

First on offer is 'Jingover' which starts off on a promising tip. Opening with a funk infused bass and percussive beat, a vocal chorus and clapping sample are soon introduced. Within a couple of minutes the beat becomes more prominent and the bass seems to all but subside for a while only to make sporadic appearances until it can be heard again properly. By now the track has managed to pass the four-minute mark and there's not been much of a change. The same bass, beat and samples appear to be looping continually. While there is a slight breakdown, it's actually just the bass and beat removed and all you hear are the vocal and samples. Eventually the guts of the track return but it’s now more of a stagnated sound.

Unfortunately with two minutes left of this track which in its duration is over nine minutes long, I had to hit the stop button. As I said, this started so promisingly but the constant looping of the same three or four elements in such an unimaginative manner was a complete disappointment. There were no key changes or any interesting effects add or for that matter any distinguishable changes in tone or melody. Above all else, for what it is, 'Jingover' would have been a more effective tune if it had been finished at the four-minute mark or thereabouts. Instead the listener is subjected to the same uninspiring repetitions for another five minutes.

Faring slightly better is the flipside with 'Steady Down (Slow Chugger)'. Taking a more laidback approach in sound, the track starts on a mellow beat with a wonky elongated bass playing underneath. Overlayed are spliced vocal samples which add an element of quirkiness. Before long a growing synth and subtle melody can be heard with the hint of metallic sound effects roaming in the background. The vocal samples soon begin to sound much clearer as a strongly defined female sound comes into play. With this particular track being around thirteen minutes long and currently only half way through, I was left wondering if it was actually going to go anywhere. In due course, there begins a slight lull in the track and a chopped beat helps to create a more crisp tone. At this point, there's a nice build in tension as added layers of sound bring the tune back up in tempo however the same rhythm process starts but on a more austere tip until very much the end of the track.

While I have to admit I enjoyed 'Steady Down (Slow Chugger)' much more then 'Jingover', it still falls short of being the type of track that I'd want to play over and over again. For starters, at a touch over thirteen minutes, it's too long and seems to drag along somewhat. As with 'Jingover', the producer should have rethought the length of the track, cut it down to the six-minute mark and intensified some of the sound effects in order to make it really standout. While it had certain pleasing elements, it unfortunately lacked the cohesiveness of a tune that grabs your attention immediately and takes you somewhere on a musical level. To be precise, after a couple of listens, I found this quite boring and sadly, will not be playing this again.

I think by now it's clear that I'm not a fan of The Mole's 'Conversations With The Past' EP. While there are so many quality releases floating about at the moment, this unfortunately is going to slip into the cracks. It disappoints me a lot when I come across such releases as these because this had such promise and both the tracks could have been something very quirky and different to hear instead of the usual releases that are dominating the market of late. Unfortunately, this one’s best left forgotten.