Under Review

Humans

Noontide (Hybridity Music)

by Julia Lehn

humans

Noontide — the first long play record from Vancouver electronic duo Humans — delivers a fresh taste of indie electronica. Despite it being their first long play release, Peter Ricq and Robbie Slade have been treating local audiences to their unique dance music since 2009. The duo met when Ricq was doing merch for Slade’s band at the time. Ricq brought an ESX-1 sampler to play with at a merch meeting, and Humans were born.The duo have been refining their sound ever since, and Noontide is stagnant evidence of their polished and sophisticated take on indie electronica.


Noontide begins with “Tell Me,” a pulsating pop track, before sliding into the roaring synths and gentle beats of “Over Again.” The most impressive transition on the first half of the record is “Over Again” into “Ennio,” a haunting slow build track which will hook you into listening to the rest of the record if you were not already convinced. On “Ennio,” an echoing vocal sample repeats the line “You just keep me waiting” over building synth waves; making this track seem a lot shorter than 7:12. I recommend the repeat button for this one.

Noontide works well as a long play — with no breaks between tracks, it makes for an easy, cohesive listen. The record does run a little on the long side, with the latter half dragging due to the faster pace of the first half.

Although dance records can be easily overlooked as a result of their stigma as “party music,” do not let yourself pass this record off. The catchy songs are mixed amongst soothing transitional tracks; spontaneously growing and descending in waves of synth. Noontide has incredible flow between tracks, yet maintains a dynamic feel.