A long-form project didn’t come to mind when Strict Face started sculpting ideas in the studio that would eventually turn into his debut album, “Severe Forward.” However, 13 years on (or 11, depending on who you ask) from his first release and following several well-loved EPs for his SLG International collective, Nina Las Vegas’ NLV imprint and Melbourne club connoisseurs Ilio Records, the album seems to have arrived at an appropriate junction of the Australian producer’s career.

Spurred on by new inspirations over the years and a change of workflow in 2023, the producer pared his set-up down to a few key pieces and got straight to work on figuring out a way forward with his sound. Taking on the challenge of a new set-up with gusto and revelling in the newfound freedom of a streamlined framework, the resulting tracks that make up “Severe Forward” make for some of the producer’s most unexpected, yet rewarding material to date.

Between the album title and the low-slung atmospherics of opener ‘Ibis Feathers,’ the boshy, drum-fuelled punch of his more renowned material may not be immediately apparent on first listen. Yet, as one listens closer, the through line becomes much clearer: take, for example, the paranoid clatter of ‘Sting Reflex,’ where blobs of modular warbles struggle for air under high-pressure kick drums and relentless thwacks, or the rapid-fire handclaps and bongos that permeate ‘Slow Strobe,’ which calls to mind zoviet*france stumbling upon a soundsystem party somewhere in Latin America. At a guess, the snares that litter ‘The Frost Escapes Our Breath’ may be the closest approximation to the handiwork present on previous releases, but that’s before one chances upon the glaciers of ice falling like clockwork.

Elsewhere, there are newly-untamed moments etched onto the album: the malfunctioning robot squalls and rough-and-tumble kicks at the centre of ‘K-Hole Nostalgia,’ or the slinky drum programming throughout the otherwise laser-sharp ‘Bellyache.’ Conversely, a more picturesque scenery can be seen bubbling to the fore, revealing itself most prominently on closer ‘Balmy Eternal,’ where clusters of pads make like a sunrise bathing a dimly-lit nightclub space.

“Severe Forward” marks a new path for a producer who’s constantly sought to refine (or, in this case, redefine) his sound without abandoning the dancers and DJs at the heart of this thing we call ‘dance music.’ The LP is, at once, a thoughtful combination of tracks direct enough to pull dancers through the wringer and a journey with no shortage of details, sure to warrant another ride once the dust settles.

Written, produced and mixed by Jon Santos.
Mastered by Joseph Buchan.
Artwork, layout and direction by Studio Heuristic.
Words by A.C. Galbraith.