Fostercare vs. †‡† (Ritualz) -S/T (2011) [Robot Elephant] // Grade: A

The best splits do more than share space. They share a mentality, an emotion, some fundamental ideology that connects the artists, if only for the moment. This latest LP from UK indie Robot Elephant may pitch itself as  versus, but really, it’s the exact opposite: Fostercare and Ritualz, these two electronic tour-de-forces, linking themselves inextricably.

Think of it as a love letter. Brooklyn’s witch-hop Fostercare and Mexico City’s dark-rave Ritualz don’t openly opine about each other’s work, but the respect seeps through the album’s pores; it feels like something crafted in tandem, not cobbled together piecemeal over oceans and wireless connections. Fostercare opens the release, all whispery rhymes and angry beats retreating into the chant-like “Low” and prancing baroque “Queen” — the latter of which eventually surges through an Underworld-esque breakdown, so much punchy and ominous dance that maybe, sorta, kinda references Ritualz’s pseudo-trance. At least in theory.

But Fostercare’s tracks go deeper than the beat. These are grimy, terrified songs, songs that feel nervous and paranoid,  that lurk around the most disturbing corners of humankind. Ritualz’s side explores the same demons, but rather than channel them via breathless twitch, he tells the story with pulsing dissonance and layers of lightward melody. “Trance Dimension” immediately launches into the producer’s signature buzzing synth, that ever-present swarm of bees flying into the pitch-black hooks and post-motorik beat of “Ill”. And his “King” — presumably the answer to Fostercare’s “Queen” — is a wicked pop song unlike almost anything he’s written before. Masculine, regal… and maybe (sorta, kinda) referential to the way Fostercare mumbles and spits his lyrics. See? It’s a thing.

Yet the most stunning clarity on Fostercare vs. Ritualz comes by way of remix. This is where the lines especially blur, where the separate atmospheres become one united front. Fostercare’s edit of Ritualz’s “San Marino” finds the paranoid twitch in the original melodies but layers them in a linear soundscape much the way Ritualz might himself. Similarly, Ritualz’s treatment of Fostercare’s “Cold Light” races through his characteristic midnight rave with a certain unsettledness, a goosbumped and shaky vibe that all but defines Fostercare. It’s enough to make you wish the two would just do a side-project together already — the best splits share a mentality, but so do the best duos.

- Rue Sauvage