Automatic Tasty: Sentimentalist’s Choice (Central Processing Unit)

If someone played me Sentimentalist’s Choice anonymously, I’d probably have guessed that DMX Krew was behind it. Automatic Tasty is instead Jonny Dillon, though his affinity for melodic, clean, vintage arrangements puts him in the same league as Ed DMX here. (It should come as no surprise that CPU was also home to DMX Krew’s recent Cities In Flight EP.) The title cut is a smooth, mid-tempo jam that fully recalls the colorful melodies of vintage Rephlex tracks, built largely around 808 beats and 303 patterns, crossing over freely with touches of acid and electro, even vintage Chicago house in its background samples. “Late in the Afternoon” has a more handsome low-end to it, with a crisp 4/4 beat and a bobbing bassline that’s downright infectious.

It’s a sharp contrast to some of the frostier electro sounds that CPU has released in the past, instead feeling like warm sun on the face in the center of an otherwise sweaty dancefloor. “Praise Brigade” sounds even more throwback, with its chuggy break and jaunty bassline that feel quintessentially 90s braindance to me. “Window Funk” continues the trend with a bulbous and constantly shape-shifting synth bass and thin mid-range drums all held together by a sweet melodic lead and swooning pads. It’s a nice parting of the clouds for CPU and another sweet entry from Automatic Tasty, recommended for fans of melodic electro and techno nostalgia.

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