Onra - 'Deep In The Night'

ONRA
Deep In The Night

Fool's Gold, 2012

• Favorite:

  "V.B.B."

• FLAVORS:

  Crystal Pepsi, sensi

RATING:

TRACK LIST:

• After Hours ft. T3
• L.O.V.E.
• Somewhere (Deep In The Night)
• V.B.B. ft. Jay Kin and Amalia
• Hold Tight

You know how in Back to the Future, the time machine is a souped-up Delorean? Like, that's funny, right? Kinda corny maybe, but makes a kind of comic sense. Onra's new EP is like that. It's made up of old-sounding elements, but sounds new. Maybe there's more to these funky vintage synthesizer flutes, chopped-up R&B samples, and woozy drum breaks than anyone thought in the 80s. It's not retro, exactly, it just pulls from the past. Sort of like how the fashion world rediscovers polyester every ten years; take an old thing and make it new.

The clear hit here is "VBB" featuring Jay Kin and Amalia, sounding like they just zoomed back to our time from 1983, wheels of their Delorean leaving flaming tracks, showing off all the cool shoes they bought back in time. The tracks on the new EP aren't exactly mind-blowing, and they don't have to be. These are unpretentious, groovy confections; perfect for getting wasted with people you don't know that well but want to sleep with. They don't need to show off, they're too slow to really dance to—understated, thoroughly enjoyable. The only real downside to this little gem is that it's too short. One wonders what other formerly forgotten funky technology Onra's rediscovered, back in time, waiting to dress up and throw back to us.