Colliding archival 1950s cinema samples, post-vaporwave soul flips, and heavy dubstep architecture, Effin drops “Heartbeats,” a psychedelic masterclass in recontextualised musical nostalgia and futurism.
“Heartbeats” aptly opens on a heartbeat sound that gets progressively faster until the track explodes around you with an orchestral jazz sample hit. Building into a wall-of-sound intro experience that ties directly into heavy dubstep dynamics, the title track sets the stage for an experimental 12-track record that pushes into wild directions with extreme confidence and genuine creativity.
The momentum shifts rapidly on “Plus One,” bringing in a grittier East Coast hip-hop bounce complete with jazz-inflected flourishes. Right here, the project reveals its richly psychedelic core. Every track feels like getting hit with an infinite bouquet and a myriad of cleverly arranged samples.
Following the foundation laid by “Cheap Thrills” in 2023 and “Daydreams” in 2025, the Nashville-based producer takes his obsession with vintage aesthetics and turns it into a rigorous examination of musical anthropology. Yet, rather than relying on standard nostalgia gimmicks, he executes remarkably creative transformations across the entire tracklist.
On “Heartaches,” Jackie Wilson’s late-60s classic “Those Heartaches” is refashioned into a post-vaporwave exercise laced with subterranean soul and underground hip-hop overtones. Meanwhile, “Pulse” leans into future funk with a glossy, driving sound that feels tailor-made for a montage of ’80s and ’90s anime scenes.
It becomes clear early on that Effin held a razor-sharp vision for what he wanted to achieve across this project. The production reflects a genuinely romantic view of music and sound itself, underscored by a continuous reliance on etherealised, pitch-shifted vocal chops. It creates an idealised “echo of a memory” texture that lingers beneath the surface of even the most aggressive arrangements.
Curiously, Effin uses this conceptual backdrop to explore vast pockets of electronic music history. By pulling from 1950s B-movie dialogue and archival vocal snippets, he balances his signature fondness for heavy dubstep wubs and whirrs with deliberate gestures toward UK garage rhythms without ever fully committing to a single template. He even draws on the lush choral harmonies of Nashville’s Anita Kerr Singers, expanding his sound palette with elements that feel both familiar and distinctly his own. Whatever label one might attempt to pin on his musical perspective, “Heartbeats” makes a compelling case for itself as an exuberant, mesmerising listening experience that rewards your attention.
