RAC - Closer EP

RAC
Closer EP
2019
Spotify

It was RAC and a few others that really got me reinvigorated about new music. His style and dedication to remixes were a breath of fresh air and his ability to make songs his own is still one of his greatest strengths. In recent years He has scaled back the remixes for original pieces which have landed with mixed results. When a song is given the RAC treatment it changes the tune and makes it something totaly new, but when it's one of his originals it tends to loose some of that excitement. "This is just the music He makes" is the thought that comes to mind. This new EP feels quite a bit different though. The opener "Katherine" is a piano and strings piece that slowly unfurls in front of you. The curtain rises and suddenly RAC is creating orchestral level productions. This EP then takes a really different stance than anything He has done before. It's gentle and almost completely devoid of electronics. You almost half expect the light piano to suddenly burst into a Porter Robinson EDM extravaganza, but RAC is more comfortable allowing this record to be different. There are moments where is light a breezy style pop in like on "Makino" but the sense of real instrumentation and flowing strolls never truly leave this record. This is by far one of the most different things RAC has done and that is in reference to a guy who made an entire video game soundtrack. It seems like RAC is ready to make a significant change, or at least a change for the time being.

"Lisa" has some of those springy elements to it, but the crux of the song is still the hauntingly slow strings. "Peter" is similar with just a hint of his signature sound creeping in on the periphery. This record sounds nice, but is it something that we needed from RAC? I don't really know the answer to that, because this record never provides it. Instead of having this feeling that yes this was the record, you end up asking why this was the record. Is RAC trying to skew so far from his roots that his music becomes unrecognizable in this new era? A lot of producers are starting to branch out into the soundtrack space and honestly this record feels like it is really trying to do that. It feels at time like an audition, or a toe dip, while at others RAC seems fully convinced that this is the way forward. Yet, maybe that is the purpose of an EP anyway, a quick way to get some thoughts out that don't exactly lineup with the discography you want to create for yourself. I don't know, but Closer leaves you with a few more questions than it does answers.

6.1 out of 10