It’s a long time since we last heard from dOP. The boys have been far from quiet, continuing to tour and enchant party people across the world with their infectious fusion of house music and refined songwriting. They’ve equally been no strangers to the studio, with their Les Fils Du Calvaire project releasing the recent Rester Avec Toi collaboration with Miss Kittin in preparation for the debut album of the project later this year. Equally their production talents have been felt in the recent Aquarius Heaven EP Bato Chargé, and vocalist JAW was recently spotted kicking off the Circus Company Limited series with “Traitor Creator”, his collaboration with Piers Faccini. Finally though the time has come for dOP to return to the record in their original form with a new four track EP that perfectly captures where the trio of Damien, Clement and JAW are at right now.
The sound on Email From A Beetle is a full-fat, club ready confection that distills the live energy of dOP into four varied but equally ear-snagging tracks that simply demand your attention. The title track in some ways harks back to the introspection of their earlier material, keeping the rhythmic elements sparse and simmering to lend ample space to JAW’s captivating vocal line, but there’s still plenty of space for Damien’s expressive keys to cut through as the song peaks.
“Melancholia” is, as the name suggests, a more reflective piece with a gentle swing and emotive melodic lines, but there’s plenty more fun times to be had as well as the infectious house bump of “Foreplay” takes hold with a hard-skipping beat and rock solid bass line. If there was any doubt that warm, rounded analogue sounds power dOP these days, “Summer Rain” is on hand with its shocking stabs of dazzling synth capturing a feverish mood that calls out to the impending sunny months of the year.
Always a group committed to moving forward with their sound, this EP serves as an exciting next step for dOP while retaining the compositional flair and addictive energy that has kept them close to our hearts all these years.