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Tropics a.k.a. Chris Ward first appeared on Planet Mu last year, following up two EPs with the album Parodia Flare. Commended by Pitchfork for his lush soundscapes and hazy pop, whats clear with Tropics is that he listens to a lot of dance music and he cares about production values. The synth and beat programming is as competent as anything out there, and he avoids lazy indie stylings and one button Bontempi organ beats – his are crafted songs, much of the pleasure lying in his gift for dynamic arrangement, which is a joy amid rafts of useful formulaically assembled house tracks. In common with the general post-financial collapse vibe there is less sunshine in this EP than before, and he has absorbed something from a year of intensive house music listening, but Chris essential qualities remain a forward-looking wistfulness, hope beneath melancholy, something even more acutely needed now than before. Oh look! Here comes winter.