D/R/U/G/S - You Are Everywhere EP

It’s tough to deliver on a solid EP, and only more so when dealing with a selection of three songs of varying mood and length. Such is the case with You Are Everywhere—the latest from Manchester-based producer Callum Wright’s D/R/U/G/S moniker—which serves up three tracks spanning from a brief 3:30 to a sprawling 7:11, and keeps its head above water primarily on the merits of its intriguing diversity.

The synergistically titled “Lightmachine” and “Nightmachine” summon a sun and moon dynamic that, intentional or non, resonates quite well within the moods and inflections of the individual pieces. On “Lightmachine,” pinpoint bursts of euphoria erupt from collisions of synth and sample over a steadily brushed beat. Heralding the day to our impending night, the piece is systematically torn between energized momentum of high noon and the lethargic daze of sun-soaked spring.

Then comes the inevitable moonrise of “Nightmachine,” which plays out in inverse. Born out of a quiet, lingering hum, the more enigmatic piece is driven largely by sparse, twinkling pegs of synth. Lower basslines disperse the illusion of serenity, conjuring the lingering chaos of darkness. Eventually, several layers of synth lines collude in creation of a harmonic unity that joins the high-end’s tranquility and low-end’s uncertainty in serene acceptance of the night sky’s uncertainties.

Title-track “You Are Everywhere” closes out the EP by way of a lyric-infused, spacey jam, one that rings far more in tune with the EDM genre, which Rivers’ voice fits quite well within. Rivers’ vocal and lyrical accompaniment provides a beacon to any who haven’t enjoyed the sparseness of tracks one and two, as well as the EP’s most interesting beats (an area “Lightmachine” and “Nightmachine” both struggle with), yet the track as a whole doesn’t quite land with the same layered intrigue as its predecessors.

You Are Everywhere is at its most interesting within the confines of its pseudo-concept, but it’s one that only exists to those who are looking for it. Further, it only functions across the collective tracks, rather than each individual piece (a dangerous dynamic for EDM). At its greatest heights, the EP conjures up an interestingly dissonant groove, yet in between its stark transitions, You Are Everywhere merely toes the line for par.