'The Decadent EP' is actually Ryan Lee West's second release, although his first under his alter ego of Rival Consoles. His first being the more avant-garde 'Vemeer EP', released under his second alias Aparatec. Though the quirks of that initial release are gone, there's still a head fuck of acid beats skipping their way through the dark alleys of your mind, accompanied by a bag full of bad trips in the form of synth strings fleshing out the tunes.
It's a paranoid infused ride and though it never reaches the out and out messed up vibe provided by the Aphex Twins, there's the air that West's been an able student, never letting either the synths nor the beats break out of their juxtaposition to over power one another. In turn an air of playing it safe pervades the EP. Tracks like 'Juncture' and 'The Decadent' still manage to retain a Gothic undertow which makes for some ice-cold late night come down music, but on the whole the 'The Decadent EP' has the vibe that West wasn't willing to go the whole hog.
So instead of being left with the soundtrack to Harrold Shipman's mental state when he was busy offing half of his patients, we're instead left with given the music in which you just day dreaming of how much fun it would be to take a stapler to your annoying co-workers job next time he makes a half arsed joke. Satisfying but nearly as much as doing the real thing.
