One expects a palpable amount of grit from Sean Hernandez (a.k.a. Chicago Skyway) and Hakim Murphy, two of the best representatives of Chicago’s current generation of house artists. That is certainly intact on this EP, their debut producing together as Pegasus Heat. But with a title like XXX Elote Y Paleta Porn and some unusually suggestive artwork, one might expect these guys to be indulging their sleazy or sensual sides here as well. This is partly true, though one would have to stretch to glean anything truly porny.

Maybe this is for the best. Hernandez and Murphy are evidently content to keep exploring their corner of modern house, and these tracks have all the fingerprints of such seasoned producers. “Candy Mountain” is highlighted by an temperamental acid line that jabs from below floating pads and an anemic, truly eerie organ. “Doorbell Action” is another acidic cut—one that’s melodically sparse, with only some faint keys to balance out its clattering rhythm. These tracks’ lack of frills magnifies their sense of space, and one ends up focused on the subtleties. “Yum Yum,” meanwhile, is atypical of both producers, and the closest of the tracks to the EP’s purported theme. Its rhythm is a woodblock-laden slink that’s slight in comparison to the duo’s more jacking material, and it’s weighed down by smudgy, drowsy chords and trickling synthesizer. The track’s mood music provides an inviting, fuchsia-tinted balancer to its more purpose-built counterparts. Ike Release, Murphy’s partner in Innerspace Halflife, seizes on “Yum Yum”‘s dancefloor potential, giving it a snare-laden gallop and cranky synth clusters. Again, though, its mixdown keeps it far from obvious club filler; it’s about as far from dully linear dance music as one can get.