Kaytranada – “Lite Spots” (Singles Going Steady)

Pryor Stroud: Glutted with lithe polyrhythms, house drums, and a sashaying vocal sample lifted from some ’70s Brazilian pop track, “Lite Spots” is full of miniature sonic breakdowns, moments when Kaytranada abruptly switches directions and seems to stumble into an entirely different song. Yet, despite these unpredictable aesthetic decisions, there is an overarching sense of levity and celebration to “Lite Spots”. There’s a feeling to it — call it a groove, call it a beat, whatever — that unifies the track into one propulsive, hip-shaking mass of sinuous syllables and uncontrollable funked-out movement. It’s a testament to Kaytranada’s skill as a songsmith that a cut this jumbled and frenetic, this high-on-something, sounds so totally pure. [8/10]

Emmanuel Elone: “Lite Spots” oozes with color and vibrancy from start to finish. The tight synth groove exemplifies Kaytranada’s musical style, and also serves as an ode to the synthpop of the last couple decades. The foreign vocal sample pops out of the track, accentuating the beat underneath it as well. The song never loses its flavor, elegance or bubble gum aesthetic, and it’s all because of Kaytranada’s talents as both a producer and arranger. It’s simplicity and immediacy may hinder “Lite Spots” from being one of the more memorable synth/electronica tracks this year, but it’s so catchy and groovy that it is a great highlight off of Kaytranada’s debut album. [7/10]

Chris Ingalls: I like how old school jazz funk provides the muted music bed behind some rather oddball singing and synth stabs. It’s an interesting mix. But it loses steam too soon, with the stop/start edits and beats becoming distracting and annoying. Basically, it’s a decent groove ruined by way too much knob twiddling. Lay off the laptop and let the music play already. [5/10]

Chad Miller: The robot vocals and the beat created a really interesting texture, and it comes rather unexpectedly. I do wish the track would have gone somewhere else near the end though. It seemed like there was a little something missing. [7/10]

SCORE: 6.75