Critiques CD: Botnek | Plonk

Fledgling Montreal duo Botnek have remixed the likes of Dooze Jackers and Felix Cartal, and gotten praise from BBC Radio One’s Annie Mac et al. But if you ask me, their debut EP is afflicted with a nasty case of kitchen sinkitis. Opener “Plonk,” for instance, tries to be too many things at once with its criss-crossing melodies and grating crescendo of blips, drum beats and samples. As the track builds to its anti-climactic drop, you’re begging them to cut the gimmickry. Same applies to their attempt at tropical moombahthon (the love child of reggaeton and dutch house), “Cairo.”