Collection: [fxhe]

Alex "Omar" Smith has covered all bases this year, offering up singles that flit between more experimental, off kilter fare, head-nodding beats informed by hip-hop culture and the unique blend of Detroit deep house and techno that has long been his stock-in-trade. His final single of 2019 sees him gleefully charge further towards disco pastures with "Another Man", a bouncy, club-ready house workout that peppers a good-time disco groove (think rubbery slap bass and crunchy drums) with spacey synth sounds, twinkling melodies and male spoken word samples ("I can quite understand... she left me for another man"). He's back on deep house mode on flipside "Suv's AKA Fatass Mobile's", where a drowsy riff and sustained synth strings bob along atop a sea of sweaty machine drums.

Cat: AOS 610

Alex "Omar" Smith traditionally uses the "Sidetrakx" series to release music that doesn't fit with his club-rocking house and techno 12" series. Even so, few would have expected him to use the latest edition - the sixth in total - to offer up a dancehall cut featuring Jamaican singer and MC Nardo Ranks. "Love Me Like Cooked Food" features Ranks chatting and singing in Patois above a dancehall "riddim" rich in rubbery bass guitar, echo-laden machine drums and flanged guitar riffs. It may be a curveball, but it's rather good. Over on the flip, "Renault used car salesman" John FM guests on a lo-fi R&B/soul workout that also includes some deliciously tongue-in-cheek, poodle perm-sporting soft rock guitar solos.