For a hot minute, Two Shell were heralded as the future of UK bass music. The mysterious duo, who have remained entirely anonymous, gained fast attention with their single home and for their inherent memeability in the electronic music community (“Two Shell are just Bicep for heads” floods Twitter to this day). Arguably, nothing else sounded quite like it. A wobbly, chrome plated amalgamation of hyperpop, bass, and UK breaks, home was the sound of bass connected to 5G. The allure of Two Shell only intensified with last year’s astounding EP, Icons, which seemed to confirm everyone’s suspicions that these guys were the sort of innovators everyone thought they might be (or very clever industry plants, according to The Quietus). It’s for this reason that lil spirits, the EP that surprise dropped at the top of the month, might feel a touch underwhelming.
For starters, it’s a definite departure from the cerebral and dank intensity of Icons. The music on here is shinier and more buoyant, a lighter take on Two Shell’s GenZ bass formulations. In this respect, it feels far more accessible and driven by the pop undercurrent that has always bubbled beneath Two Shell like the ghost of PC Music’s imperial phase. Things here are as rowdy as ever, and Two Shell continue their sort of internet inspired pastiche that ranges from random, helium pitched voice samples to the sound of iPhone notifications, but for the first time this approach sounds familiar. love him, for instance, uses chopped and pasted vocals and a bass bounce that feels like Easyfun covering Koreless, while iMessage owes much to Mura Masa if you cross out the blippy sampling choices.
Download and stream lil spirits here
lil spirits feels, shockingly, formulaic. But looking past this, what you’ll find is an EP that regardless, still bangs. Who can resist the mutant dub-rave, reggaeton of the rushing bluefairy? Or the batshit club collage of mind_dᴉlɟ that sounds like Two Shell tried to create the hyperpop Bohemian Rhapsody at the speed of the internet? lil spirts is hard, fast, and dirty, and most intriguingly, it introduces a touch of satire to the Two Shell mythology. And if you set aside the expectations that have been placed on this otherwise unknown duo and their assumed creative mission statement, you’ll realise that satire has been part of Two Shell all along. The Burial, ghost in the machine on permanent incognito mode identity. The vaguely titled tracks and EPs coming for A.G. Cook’s gig, daring you to take them seriously. It’s abundantly clear that the truth about Two Shell is that they’re a running commentary on the absurdity of internet age electronic music, and watching their performance unfold is thrilling. Especially when we have a few fire bops to go along with it.
(Siri, play home by Two Shell).
Listen to ♡here4u♡ from lil spirits below.
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