Michael J. Blood & Rat Heart - Nite Mode Vol. 1 (2022)

Bleary soul x screwed beatdown dynamics recorded deep into the night by Rat Heart and Michael J. Blood, primed for neon-lit, nocturnal consumption on a skewed, screwed and heavily marinaded tip that sounds something like Actress/Thriller on a syrup-slow manc-soul cruise.

Fuzzed to the eyeballs and dripping with sticky vibes, ‘Nite Mode Vol.1’ is a new project forged over late nights in north MCR during one of MJ and Ratty’s parallel dimension sessions. Gauzy echoes of bygone soul parties, romances and VHS-baked memories of Moss Side block parties percolate the dozen rawly rendered gems , encapsulating more than a decade of hanging out and shooting the shit over tunes.

It’s a concerted slow-motion contrast to their respective, acclaimed solo LPs of recent months, namely ‘As Is’ and ‘Ratty Rids the Clubs From the Evil Curse of the Private School DJs’, which have kept the disciples on their toes, along with plenty shots of guitar blooz and beatdown since both avatars emerged just prior to the pandemic.

The duo keep it locked and wide open with inimitable style here; playing to polysemous distinctions of “soul” that flow from DJ Screw-like slump on ‘Waitin’wav’ to something like Andrés flying off a triple hit of nos on ‘Trouble’, with flanging boogie soul chords on ‘Claremont Road’ brushing shoulders with piquant synth jam ‘Red Leb’, Thriller-esque swag in ‘Harley Ave’, crankiest dub on ‘Ooze Cruise’, and filter-clogged deep house on ‘Ant Works’.

Dunno how long this run of form can last but, jeez, what a run.