Live Review: Ahead of his incoming mixtape, Strict Face drops huge tune 'Gold Citro'

Adelaide producer STRICT FACE has just announced the release of his nine track mixtape New Racer, with the drop of a fresh new single 'Gold Citro'. As a taste of what's to come it's promising to say the least, featuring those club meets pop/rnb melodies we've come to love from the producer all while never losing sight of his underground influences. In the face of such a huge back catalogue, every new release from Strict Face tweaks and widens the definition of what the producer can really do and 'Gold Citro' is no exception.

Strict Face takes a break from his vocal collaborators, going all in on an instrumental full of compositional depth and bright energy. The half tempo groove and chugging RnB percussion hooks into a bodily rhythm, all at a perfect head bopping bpm. A playful melody weaves throughout, playing off and enhancing euphoric stabs of chords and synth progressions. With the amount of agile synthwork and groove inducing percussion in this one, honestly he's just showing off at this point.

The final third of the track feels like a totally different beast to the intoxicating flow of the rest of the track, but that meandering melody connects the two sections with ease. Of the track, Stricty said “I made 'Gold Citro' quite early on in 2017 (around the same time I finished working on my last EP, This Heat) out of two separate sketches I had lying around on my HDD. In a way, the “Frankenstein monster” approach turned out to be a blessing, since it’s one of my all-time favourite tracks."

With his full release incoming on NLV Records and Local Action on the 14th of November, 'Gold Citro's thumping percussion and melodic prowess will have to tide us over until then. You can download 'Gold Citro' and pre-order the nine track mixtape New Racer from Strict Face here, click thru to order a bundle with a limited release longsleeve.

PHOTO by Tiff Williams

WORDS BY HOLLY O’NEILL

LISTEN TO NEW MUSIC HERE

SEE ALSO

STRICT FACE TURNS UP THE THERMOSTAT WITH NEW EP, ‘THIS HEAT’