Jam City feat. Sølv & Aidan – “Pure Vice”

There is usually supposed to be something impure about a vice. A little shame. A questionable decision. At minimum, the understanding that perhaps we shouldn't be enjoying ourselves quite this much. Jam City has removed that administrative burden. “Pure Vice” gives us all of the indulgence with remarkably little interest in the consequences.

Jack Latham has described My World, his new Jam City album, as the result of disappearing deeper into his own musical instincts until he arrived at the most “me” thing he's ever made. After the club-forward rush of EFM, he slowed things down again, returning to the hypnotic, psychedelic pull that's run through different eras of his work. “Pure Vice” makes an excellent argument for taking your time. Sølv and Aidan drift through a production that feels nocturnal without becoming sleepy, sensual without laying it on thick. Nothing rushes because nothing here is worried about getting caught.

And that's really the pleasure of it. “Pure Vice” doesn't chase a giant payoff when the entire four minutes and twenty seconds already feel like one long reward. Details smear into one another, the groove stays low to the ground and everything carries that slightly illicit feeling of realizing the night has gone considerably later than planned. The lyrics online remain suspiciously difficult to verify, so we're not putting words in anybody's mouth. Fortunately, vice has never required particularly detailed instructions.