Ivy Lab return to Critical Music to build on the success of their initial singles with an EP showcasing their depth and versatility. Predictably the EP kicks off with a deep, soulful roller featuring the vocal talents of Frank Carter III, but this is by far from the best track in the release. It’s a bit of a shame that the trio is so reluctant to put their name on anything without at least one trademark track of this style, but it’s still well enough executed to be forgiveable.

On to more interesting things, Live Your Smile combines the depth and atmospherics the Lab are so good at with a sexier vocal and a more insistent drum pattern; smooth, sure, but with an edge that gives the track character and a hint of the autonomic vibe that dBridge employs so well.

Pepper sees Critical stablemate Emperor joining in for a collab with unusual results – there’s more than a hint of techno to this one, between the hypnotic drums and the faintly acid lead line. Dark and deadly! Finally Sunday Crunk delivers the oddest (and arguably best) track on the EP, kicking in some seriously swung half-time beats and a big bad bass riff that’s sure to get you nodding your head.

For the digital buyers Pepper also gets a tasty glitched up remix from Deft which is well worth a look. Check out the clips below and watch out for the EP dropping on general release from Feb 24th. For the vinyl enthusiasts there’s also a super limited edition vinyl release with handmade artwork dropping from the 17th…check out the Ivy Lab website for more on that.