Earlier this year, Finnish producer Teeth dropped “Shawty,” a song that, even before its actual release, was widely tabbed as one of those tunes. You know, those ultra-hyped songs that get message-board fanboys all hot and bothered and prompt desperate DJs to begin offering their first-born sons in exchange for an advance promo. It didn’t help that “Shawty” was being released via Oneman‘s tastemaker-worshipped 502 Recordings label, either. That said, the sultry and slow-burning “Shawty” undeniably was a big tune, and following up big tunes, even months or several releases later, is no easy task.

In fairness, Teeth followed “Shawty” pretty quickly with the “Cnt” b/w “Lowcut Champagne” single on Noppa, but the four-track Swarm/Shift/Sequence/Spawn EP is a higher-profile record. And frankly, it finds the Helsinki-based beatmaker employing many of the same tricks that made “Shawty” so great. Drum work is Teeth’s true strength, and opener “Frequencies” employs a flurry of snappy kicks and snares while keeping the melody to a moody minimum. “OJ” steps things up with its punchy garage rhythm and ghostly vocal refrain, but it’s not until “SW” that an actual melody is placed front and center. Make no mistake, the song still employs a rapid-fire percussive attack, but the light, almost trancey stabs and warped R&B vocal snippets offer a nice change to Teeth’s usual dark and dubby exploits. “19éme” continues in a similar direction, effectively melding flashes of classic big-room synth sounds with clacketing organic drum sounds. Without a doubt, Teeth is evolving, but he’s not in any rush to do so.