Croak Elixir is Toronto, Canada based Erik Lacroix who delivers his four track mini-album, Velvet Rope; a foray into often playful IDM with varied stylistic accents, married to a 4/4 dance beat. Title track, “Velvet Rope” seems a homage to artist, Aphex Twin for its recognizable tone fragments taken from the latters’ albums but set to a dance beat with electro accents. The dance beat continues on “Wilhelm (red velvet mix)” but set to unfurling warbly synth tones more evocative of Detroit Technno’s Derrick May. “Wilhelm...” is a balancing act of dance beats, frenetic breaks, manic synth warbling set against a canvas of Detroit-style catchy keyboard melody and perhaps evokes 90’s era electronica wholesomeness. Concluding track, “Ham Sandwich” seems a stylistic nod to IDM-ster Bochum Welt for its melodies and counter-melodies that play off one another set to more restrained beats and a catchy bassline for an emotional paradox of melancholy and joy. Croak Elixir is an artist who draws from other artists like a musical palette to create stylings his own, one foot in homage the other into the future.