Part of the joy of Cheetah Bend is just how freely it pulls from all over the genre map to get its kicks. Cheetah Bend certainly isn’t the freshest take on this sound, but it’s no less full of heart. The SOPHIE-featuring ‘Metal’ shares its DNA with a live track that’s been floating around the internet since the PRODUCT era. TNGHT came out before Spotify was really a thing. Danny Brown’s contribution on ‘Get Up’ could have easily slotted onto Old. The “maximalist sound/minimalist execution” approach to bass music has been bubbling up for about a decade. Given that description and those names, you probably know what you’re getting here. These are brash club bangers shifted into cartoony forms. Edgar enlists likeminded eccentrics and personal heroes like Danny Brown, the late, great SOPHIE, and Hudson Mohawke to add their magnetism to what is largely a celebratory party record. His childlike sense of fun bleeds through every moment.Ĭheetah Bend might be a solo album, but it’s not a lone venture. Cheetah Bend is his first solo album in nearly nine years. From the glitchy dance jams of Colour Strip through to J-E-T-S, his blissed-out take on R&B with Machinedrum, Edgar has never sounded jaded. He’s capable of adapting to and embracing new sounds with the kind of energy and enthusiasm that’s rare for a chameleon producer of his calibre. The long reach and low bottom bracket sit you right down onto the trail for a great sense of connection and security, instead of feeling perched on top.Īdd a grippy front tyre, well-judged stem length and the power-steering effect of the wide bar, and the Rake outclasses bikes like the Voodoo Aizan, Diamondback Sync 3.0 and Saracen Tufftrax Comp Disc when things got fast and techy.Detroit producer Jimmy Edgar has been a versatile and dependable voice in electronic music for years. While the head angle is relatively steep by more expensive hardcore hardtail standards, it’s still slack enough to provide a slight self-correcting element when things get sketchy. In fact, the fork’s so smooth that I had to add some preload to the spring to stop it feeling too soft when cornering, but then that’s the whole point of having that adjustment.
While the 30mm stanchions of the RockShox fork can twist and stutter if you really push it hard, you can still tackle steps, roots and rocks with speed and confidence. That’s because Calibre has done an outstanding job putting together such a capable trail bike for the money.
That chain clatter is the only thing likely to disturb you if you’re ploughing through rougher sections of trail. RockShox’s XC 30 has its limits but it’s smooth and more reliable for the price Andy Lloyd / Immediate Media
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