After releasing a couple albums of melodic down-tempo IDM and techno on Boltfish Recordings and Electronic Eel Records, Philadelphia native Benjamin Runyan, also known as City Rain, makes his vocal debut with the These Days EP. The addition of vocals fits comfortably on top of Ben’s crisp productions, signature twinkling synths, acoustic guitar flourishes, and precise drums. Utilizing the best of electronic music’s warm and cold textures, “These Days” evokes the feeling of sitting by a fire while staring out the window on a rainy day. It’s a cozy down-tempo track about what two people mean to each other and just like his music, Runyan’s vocals sound simple, but sincere. The EP also includes a handful of remixes. Outputmessage takes “These Days” from the headphones to the dancefloor with distorted bass synths and syncopated piano chords. Alka also raises the tempo, but in a style reminiscent of the melodic techno on early Warp records. Aligning Minds rounds out the EP with a smoky effects-laden remix that pushes the original into an experimental ambient direction. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.