Posted by “…But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” Benjamin Franklin stated in 1789. It’s a timeless quote but it’s in desperate need of an update to recognise another modern-day phenomenon; India Jordan only makes bangers. In a time of great uncertainty, when the world is increasingly unpredictable, it’s reassuring to cling to one constant, and it comes in the form of India’s talent for creating dance music that provides both dizzying euphoria and instant comfort.
After the sublime ‘For You’ EP garnered overwhelming critical acclaim, dancers spent much of 2020 mourning shuttered clubs and cancelled festivals, lamenting the fact tracks like ‘For You’ and ‘Rave City’ couldn’t be heard over booming soundsystems which now gathered dust. It was obvious that summer should have belonged to India Jordan. Little did we know, they had plenty more up their sleeve to ensure this summer is equally stocked with weapons, now displayed on ‘Watch Out!’
The new EP is “heavily inspired by movement in both its literal and abstract forms” and it shows. It all boots off with ‘Only Said Enough’. A turbo-charged introduction with a vocal refrain that’s destined to be belted out by every festival crowd in 2021, it’s an infectious slice of strutting speed garage. The title track is similarly rowdy, armed with breaks, blaring sirens, barking dogs and sporting all the hallmarks of a banger which has you scrabbling for an ID when it rips through your radio.
‘And Groove’ is the perfect balance of playfulness and warmth, both essential components of India’s fizzy sound, while ‘You Can’t Expect The Cars To Stop If You Haven’t Pressed The Button’ is inspired by lockdown bike rides and crafted from bleeps, whirrs and samples of Peckham and Dublin traffic lights that somehow become brilliantly danceable. That leaves ‘Feierabend’, which translates to “end of working day” in German and could describe much of India’s discography at its exhilarating best. One of electronic music’s most vital creators, only India Jordan can bottle the sheer jubilation of clocking off, dancing home and crystalise it in song.
9/10
Words: Lee Wakefield
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