Around two years ago, the famously impenetrable Chicago house sub-genre footwork seemed to have a mainstream chance.  Its chief ambassador DJ Rashad rocked festivals all over the globe, inspiring regional scenes from Russia to Mexico.  But in 2014, Rashad died at the age of 34, and footwork dropped off the global map for a while, threatening to once again become a regional concern.
Enter Dark Energy, the debut album from Gary, Indiana producer Jlin. Dark Energy renews footwork’s mainstream prospects and confirms its potential to create new, great (perhaps greater than ever before) art. This is the most fun, most accessible major footwork album. It’s also one of the most skillfully crafted.
Jlin uses a lot of triplets, giving these songs a trap feel augmented by her rolling snares. If any footwork album’s gonna get big among frat boys, it’s Dark Energy. But the tricks of the old footwork masters are there, up her sleeves. Her canny genre fusion is similar to Rashad’s. Her wubby bass is reminiscent of that of DJ Clent, whose Last Bus To Lake Park is another footwork full-length from this year worth a listen. And her showmanship is comparable to that of RP Boo, inventor of footwork, whose flamboyant fingers are arguably the genre’s most skilled.
There’s even a bit of Aphex Twin in her sound design, the unpredictability and effortless ability to keep her audience on her toes. Yes, Jlin’s work bears the influence of a lot of other artists. But they’re among the greatest artists in their genres, and listening to Dark Energy makes you feel like you’re listening to one of them for the first time again.
She’s amazing with sound. Songs cluck like chickens, ripple like gentle classical compositions. She doesn’t sample much except for vocals. But her real gift is with snares. She doesn’t use them to disorient the audience, like Traxman and Boo do. She uses them to beat on them. Every snap of her snares is like getting your ears stapled, except you’re a masochist and you love it.
Dark Energy is 39 minutes long. Most footwork records run over an hour. This is a classic punk move. The Ramones made shorter albums than everyone else. Nas made an album of the same length, Illmatic, that’s considered one of the best albums in a genre known for sprawling full-lengths. The brutal concision of this album is meant to shock the listener before they process what just happened and beg for more.
I’m playing this album for my roommate right now. He’s playing Grand Theft Auto and couldn’t be more down. He loves indie rock and new wave, but now he seems interested in the whole concept of footwork. If you’ve never heard footwork and want to get into it, by all means start with Dark Energy.

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“Sometimes” improves over its predecessor in its use of time. Split Peas’ songs often meandered for well over five minutes; here, only three run over four. (Album cover courtesy of Milk! Records)