Bondax Baby I Got That EP
The teenage duo of Lancaster upstarts known as Bondax has built a budding career from […]
The teenage duo of Lancaster upstarts known as Bondax has built a budding career from its keen ability to warp emotive vocal samples into glistening pieces of pop-infused bass music. The latest example of such, the Baby I Got That EP, shows a touch more refinement than the pair’s past efforts, with a more solid sound structure holding together the producers’ catchy, Balearic-kissed twistings this time around.
Perhaps because of its members’ age, Bondax has made music inspired by the club, but maybe not truly intended for it. “You’re So,” the track that first launched the duo into view, only boasted a minute-plus worth of drums, instead spending more time putting together immersive buildups and breakdowns than parlaying rhythms intended for a dancefloor. In the same way, much of Bondax’s output since could be considered headphone-aimed bass music—it’s instantly catchy and skillfully crafted, but out of place in a more traditional club context. However, the Baby I Got That EP signals more of a lean towards dancefloor-minded fare. In particular, the title track—although chugging just below 110 bpm—is, at its simplest, an updated take on Balearic house, the song’s shimmering chords and summery percussion joined by thick low end and an expertly reworked vocal line from which the tune takes its title. It’s an easy-to-swallow afternoon anthem, equally fit for sun-soaked dance parties or simply iPod enjoyment.
Unfortunately, the strength of this title track goes largely unsupported by its accompanying tunes. Bondax’s other original offering, “It’s You,” delivers well enough on the production side of the spectrum, but can’t help but feeling like a sketch—its vocal-sample chops and melodic patterns fall far short of much of the pair’s work to date. Dirtybird’s Justin Martin‘s also turns in a pair of “Baby I Got That” remixes (they’re actually just two versions of the same rework, with the second serving as a shorter edit), but they come off as a calculated jump from the original to club-primed audio (although Martin does land on a pretty enticing bassline in the process).
Nevertheless, two things remain abundantly clear over the course of Baby I Got That—Bondax is a group still finding its feet amidst the evolving bass-music sphere, but it’s also one working with loads of promise.