Jimi Jules, Baby Run

Since September, this is the fourth CircoLoco Records release to cross my desk. I admit: I didn’t fully digest the previous three, but with 'Baby Run' I actually sat down and listened to the entire thing before deciding to write about it. And you know what? It’s good. Not 'brand-defining' good, just good. That's a perfectly acceptable outcome for a label whose output has been hit-or-miss lately.

What works: it doesn't sound like the last three CircoLoco things I’ve heard. There's a sense of musicality here that feels less like a DJ tool and more like a song cycle. Jimi Jules is clearly leaning into his songwriting side, which is a welcome change of pace.

The title track 'Baby Run' opens with a hazy, vocal-led groove that feels both intimate and danceable. 'Dreamin'' closes the EP with a similar mood, ethereal, a little melancholic, but with enough of a pulse to keep the floor moving.

The weak point is 'Turbo Rosso', not because the label's tiredness finally caught up with it (it hasn't, really), but simply because it's the same idea as the title track without a new hook. It's a filler track in an otherwise solid package.

That's the whole point of keeping the tally clean. The label being tired doesn't mean every release off it's tired.