DJ Sprinkles

Midtown 120 Blues

A meditation on the "meaning" of house, a critique of the recent deep house revival, an exploration of one man's personal relationship with the sound—Midtown 120 Blues is all of these things, not to mention being some of the best deep house you'll hear in a very long time.

By no means grandiose, Midtown 120 Blues excels for the simple fact that it takes a part of Thaemlitz and expresses it consistently throughout all aspects of its construction.

There is love here, however guarded. At its best, Midtown 120 Blues simultaneously acts as a corrective to house's ahistorical narrative and reminds us just how potent and beautiful New York deep house can be.

To casual listeners, Midtown 120 Blues may even come across as a celebration of all of the distinguishing hallmarks of the genre -- a notion that seems reasonable enough given the exquisitely crafted music on the disc.

The comma of a warm, undulating chord wash, the semi-colon of a synthesized energy pulse; there are no full stops or harsh question marks imposed by the Balearic bounty of Midtown 120 Blues.