Track Review: Chrome Sparks – “Soul & <3"

On the tracklist for Chrome Sparks’ My <3, “Soul & <3" comes in immediately after the inversely-titled, immensely soothing "<3 & Soul." Appropriately, "Soul & <3" fades in slowly from the latter's calm ending, then quickly gathers up all its parts and quickly resuscitates them, this time quicker and harder. The drum jolts hit with just a bit more force on what is effectively the second half of one grander musical vision; the beat stutters more sharply, the vocal samples are louder and more varied. This whole transition feels almost dream-like, as if you'd been asleep, slowly came to, and then dosed back off into a more piercing conclusion to whatever dream you'd had interrupted. All flowery language and poignant imagery aside, "Soul & <3" is a truly fantastic, if relatively simple, track. Jeremy Malvin, the Ann Arbor knob-turner behind Chrome Sparks, already seems to have a firm grasp on the art of constructing electronic music that effectively emotes. That's not always an easy accomplishment, but it's one that "Soul & <3" pulls off blissfully.