Disc Two brings us to the "Moon" phase, and finds us more at an intersection between club music and an after-hours come down. Starting off with the infectious Poolside House Mix of "Where You Belong," we're introduced to a more dance-oriented groove. The style of this disc takes its cue from House music as interpreted through various filters. For the first track, it's with a light trance filter. For both "Listen To My Heartbeat" featuring Laid Back and "Lazy Life," there's a slight reggae bounce thrown in to nice and subtle effect.
The ethereal float above "Butterfisch" gives the underlying groove an excellent counterbalance, and it's probably the nicest track of this half. But it's also at this point that you begin to wonder why the tracks aren't mixed together. This second disc, particularly, has an excellent flow with the tracks, and solid material to boot. It feels like a greatly missed opportunity.
"El Verano" delivers a solid disco-meets-house groove, and makes you wonder if the duo will take some of these styles further with future releases. Because when the needle drops on the Boutique Mix of "Relax (Your Mind)," the feeling of how neutered the first disc sounds comes rushing back. Not that they haven't done some really quality chillout stuff in the past (as volume one in the Relaxseries clearly shows), but here we are presented with two sides of their sound. The sound on this second disc is done particularly well, and fully upstages the more lackluster effort of the first half.
Relax: Edition Four ends up being a disappointing mixed bag. Although the second disc delivers a really solid collection of more club-oriented tracks, it falls short as everything is left unmixed. And despite some highlights, the first disc falters on both counts. In all, it's a weak entry to the series, but not so much so that you can't help but root for a better realized next volume.
Article comments