Deerhunter drummer
Moses Archuleta uses the solo outlet
Moon Diagrams to explore ambient, techno, disco, and other sounds that wouldn't necessarily fit within his main group. Appearing two years after his sprawling, long-in-the-making debut full-length
Lifetime of Love,
Trappy Bats is more concise, yet still full of variety. It's also considerably more spontaneous than
Lifetime;
Archuleta recorded much of it during a fit of insomnia following a day spent in prison, due to a missed court appearance. The title track seems to equally express frustration with the system as well as relief that he made it back home. The track unfolds over 11 minutes, blending deep house chords and thumping beats with darker, more ominous textures, although these melt away right before the track ends.
Shigeto's version of the track pumps the beat up and adds some choppy vocal samples, seeming intent on erasing the uneasiness felt during the original.
Archuleta's other two original compositions are considerably less kinetic; "Wipeout" is a detached, sporadic lounge piano loop construction, while the slow, sizzling "Daisychain" isn't too far from sounding like the deep reggaeton of
DJ Python.
Angel Deradoorian's version of the track removes the haziness of the original, as she ponders the path to transcendence. The short album ends with a surreal soup of buzzing static and submerged, cloudy pianos courtesy of
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. More than just a stopgap EP with remixes,
Trappy Bats is an improvement over the often-meandering
Lifetime, imbued with more of a sense of purpose while losing none of
Archuleta's drive for seeking out offbeat sounds and rhythms.