Following a series of successful releases on R&S offshoot, Media Fury, Foundation Music, and most recently New York’s legendary Nu Groove, Bruise has found a new home with London house institution, Faith. His fresh 3-track E.P. opens with Switch. On a record that’ll appeal to both heads and hardcore ravers, this is perhaps the most sophisticated piece. Echoing Ashley Beedle’s seminal Black Science Orchestra sides, after introducing itself with a flickering computerised conga rhythm, it stops for huge, soothing spiritual jazz chords – the sort of thing you might expect to accompany some conscious poetry, calling for unity, calling for change. These are then swapped for flitting flute-like and Underground Resistance-esque keys. Think the Detroit outfit’s Jupiter Jazz and Happy Records. A familiar disco / house loop, filtered and fooled around with, and funky collaged drums then form the foundations of Runaway. Coloured by criss-crossing synths and warmed by manhandled, morphing waves of orchestration, in this case, a point of reference might be X-Press 2’s mid-90s “Super Dubs”… but rebooted and beefed-up. Each of the cuts here incorporates classic house influences, and adds, augments them with a bigger, brutal, bottom end. The final offering comes with a massive kick and crafty tom tom fills. It’s banging piano setting about an anthem riff. Fairlight angels make far out exclamations, countering seismic bleep bass. A crazy synthesised symphony zig-zags this way and that. Providing the perfect score for refreshed revellers to “build the box” and throw serious shapes. The beat then falls away and an extended breakdown reveals Ous to be 2024’s Strings Of Life. Relentless, rocking, euphoric, breathtaking, rushing, it’s bound to have summer festivals going barmy.

Ous is the partner to Bruise’s previous smash Joy. They fit together to form “Joy-Ous”. Before I read the press release, though, I thought the track’s title was a play on the London pronunciation of “House”. The E.P. can be ordered from Faith.