To mark the occasion of his 20th year making music, Dylan Hermelijn has decided to release the first full-length album of his career under his long-running 2000 And One guise. Having built his career on looped tech house in its most basic and repetitive form, Hermelijn doesn't stray far from his established M.O. on Heritage: The music is simple and effective, executed cleanly, and easy to move to and mix with.
Hermelijn's style doesn't lend itself very well to the long-playing format, however. While the tracks themselves are perfectly acceptable as floor tools, full of funky bass grooves, big vocal bursts and snappy house rhythms inspired by classic Chicago and Detroit sides alternately, nothing here shows much ambition beyond straight-up ass-shaking. Over the course of a full-length album, it frankly gets a little old. Tempos rarely vary, drop-outs are as predictable as paint and distinctly anticlimactic.
There are some inspired touches to be sure: The blooping organ stabs of "Dat Na Poku" are fun and provide some levity, while opener "Burning Dub" has energy to spare and a nice bassline and "State of the House" utilizes some nifty elastic percussion and a subtle clipped hi-hat. But only the Detroit-inspired synth pads and cracking snares of "Mejiro" show anything off the normal menu, and it doesn't arrive until near the album's close. By the end of the 67-minute running time, nothing much sticks in the head.
Hermelijn is clearly playing homage to his house heroes here (there's even a "No man in the world!" vocal sample, among other old favorites in "State of the House," some of which I haven't heard in well over a decade), but there simply isn't enough variety here to justify repeat listens. Hermelijn's approach has served him well for the 12-inch format. Unfortunately, Heritage may demonstrate that best.
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