Chicago-based producer Ryan McRyhew works as Thug Entrancer, teasing and abstracting the rhythmic innovations of his adopted hometown; "Death After Life I" opens his upcoming album—and debut for the Daniel Lopatin-affiliated Software label—Death After Life. Informed by juke and footwork, "Death After Life I" drops the unhinged, celebratory nature of those styles, instead constructing maze-like rhythms out of snapping snares and low-slung, relentless toms. Considering the all of the movement in the rhythm section, the track's plasticine synths exude an eerie calm. There's always a danger in academizing street cultures, but McRyhew's light atmospheric touch keeps the focus squarely where it should be—the drums—for both himself and the listener.