URCA - Just A Gent

The good: "URCA" sits in a slightly weird position. It's atmospheric, but not quite atmospheric; dark, but not quite dark; emotive, but not quite emotive. It's a surreal electropop-oriented record, nothing like what the modern electropop scene is typically thought as, and yet it doesn't lean towards any extremes. Everything is slight, everything is subtle, and as a result, everything is oddly offbeat. Don't get me wrong — it's easy to digest, but there's a strange feeling throughout the entire record that it's not quite... right. Not in the sense that it's of a poor quality, or that it's tonally unsure, it's just unusual enough to be noticeable, but subtle enough to be, well, subtle. That, to me, signals a certain level of mastery, and it's difficult to contest the fact that Just A Gent has brought innovation with "URCA". A roster of fantastic vocalists, a set of clean synths, a certain knack for songwriting and sound design, and you already have a thoroughly serviceable record. Add in that slightly twisted element to it, and you have the "URCA" EP, a groundbreaking electropop record.

The bad: Aside from lacking some cohesiveness, I can't help but feel that some of the songs drag on a little. At certain points in the album, the quirks of the production can feel a tad worn down, particularly the beatwork, even despite the vocals that a listener would otherwise typically latch onto.