Ben Khan - Blade (Tidal Wave of Love)

Ben Khan could go one of two ways. A couple of EPs in, and he’s in a comfortable position between all-out pop and dogged experimentalism. Tracks like ‘Youth’ burst apart with new ideas, but at the core is a melody that could be translated towards the charts in a flash.

‘Blade (Tidal Wave of Love)’ might just be an introverted demo, but it gives indication of where Khan can go, more so than the material on this year’s ‘1000’. A dusky mid-Western drawl is somehow placed within icy electronica, synth notes bending out of shape. Barely-there guitar licks by way of Jungle remain, but there’s a bedroom pop quality to this work that might get lost if Khan sets his sights firmly on bigger things. A lesson in why you shouldn’t compromise.