Leo‘s latest six-track EP, Cicada Burnt, is a stunningly crafted collection of teknoid soundscapes where cutting-edge pulses scatter love bullets of intent with serious depth, weight and imagination.
A cinematic ascent that feels simultaneously weightless
Leo‘s latest six-track EP, Cicada Burnt, is a stunningly crafted collection of teknoid soundscapes where cutting-edge pulses scatter love bullets of intent with serious depth, weight and imagination. If electronic music came as cakes, this would be a deeply delicious one: richly layered, beautifully balanced and full of rewarding detail with every return. Expansive atmospheres form the broad canvas upon which pole and wood basslines stutter in and out of half-time, dub-inflected drops, while slack hi-hats and clipped synth motifs generate an insistent sixteenth-note tension that constantly nudges the music forwards without ever overcrowding it.
Opener “Qwershapes” immediately establishes the EP’s language, balancing precision with abandon in a thrilling display of rhythmic confidence and sonic restraint. “Jetti” follows by treating emptiness, timing and negative space as instruments in themselves, exemplifying the post-genre spirit increasingly defining contemporary electronics. Rather than merely hopping between stylistic traditions from one track to the next, Leo folds those traditions into individual compositions, dissolving tribal boundaries with the confidence of an artist more interested in expression than categorization.
The title track is a genuine low-end masterwork. Wah-soaked synths, sculpted percussion, clipped rhythmic fragments and heavyweight bass converge into something simultaneously playful and profound, expressing the paradox that the deepest seriousness often reveals itself through the joy of creative play. It is music that feels instinctive rather than calculated, communicating an artistic presence that cannot simply be learned.
“Descant” reinforces that philosophy through muscular bass pressure and hypnotic propulsion before the closing two-part “Spirit Level” reaches the record’s emotional summit. “Prescript” inhabits an elusive territory between ambience, dub, found sound and bass music without settling into any recognizable form, its immense scale matched by genuine warmth. The concluding piece channels skyscraper tension, unstable bass movements, dub-wise pyrotechnics and voice-like pads into a cinematic ascent that feels simultaneously weightless and earthbound. Superb work, and comfortably one of the finest releases in Leo‘s growing catalog.
Cicada Burnt is available on Peak Oil. [Bandcamp]
