Reviews of:
Autechre: Tri Repetae (Warp)
I have to say the hype about this album really had me excited about this
release. Unfortunately, I feel it was sadly misplaced. After about two
weeks of trying quite hard to like this release, I just haven't been able
to do it. The entire album gives me a feeling that I have heard it all
before. The best my roommate and I have been able to appreciate, was 1:
being up at 4a.m. writing essays it sounded pretty good, and 2: being in
a different room from where it was being played, it sounded pretty good,
most likely because the mid-range frequencies were cut out, ie, the
boring melodies had been taken out. Not a bad album, just not an
original album.
Autechre: Anvil Vapre (Warp)
A four-tracker that has been discussed to death. Track #1 is great. #4
has so much potential, but spends 10 minutes going nowhere, and the
others are forgettable.
South of Market ep (Reflective)
Three tracker from the Plaid boys plus others. Soon by Jonah Sharpe and
Plaid does have the Black Dog feel to it. Nice clattery rhythms, but
more sparsely laid out than the typical BDP tracks. The flip side has
two tracks of Plaid + Mark Broom. The first one tends to sound like the
Dog, while the second track has a 4/4 pulse that makes it suitable for
the dancefloor. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the holographic
sticker on the a side. It is a plain old spectrum, but when it spins on
the turntable, it makes you pleasantly dizzy after 30 seconds of looking,
and downright nauseous after a minute.
Velocette ep (Reflective)
Four tracker from (...). Definitely on the techno tip. Two tracks with
the 4/4 pulse are suitable for any dancefloor, and two idm'ish tracks
that are less appealing but still listenable.
Kid Spatula: Spatula Freak (Reflective)
Album of the year. Hands down. Mike Paradinas brings out the rag and
polishes up the style that so impressed on Tango'n'Vectif. Nine tracks,
of which the first seven are great, and the last two are so-so. Muted
trumpets (again), synth cellos, and that ziq style percussion bring the
house down on every track. If the percussion of Dance #3 doesn't at
least make you fidget, it's time to call the ambulance. Track #4 takes
the strings idea of Autechre's Silverside and takes it to upbeat idm
heights.
This album hasn't seen to much press on idm, so I'm guessing it's been
hard to find, but snap one up quickly, it's the best thing I've heard all
year.
u-ziq: Salsa with Mesquite ep (Planet u)
A fairly weak ep from Paradinas. Balsa Lightning does stand out as a
great track, and the Jake Slazenger remix is quite well done. Track #4
(reflectiv?) is a clever take on country music, and the other tracks
are fairly forgettable. Still, it is u-ziq, and that makes it more
inventive than most releases nowadays.
There Are Too Many Fools Following Too Many Rules (Irdial)
We suffer to bring you beautiful music reads irdial's slogan on the
inside jacket. A 2-CD comp of older material from the artists in
irdial's stable, including Aqua Regia, Neuropolitique, and others.
Containing songs mostly from 90-92, this comp is mostly in the techno/idm
style of those years. To sum it up, the second CD is more impressive
than the first, and if you are new to the techno scene and want some cool
tunes from the days when house and techno weren't miles apart, this comp
will mostly likely satisfy.
BTW: Also picked up my promo of In Pine Effect. Not the CD, but a
pine-tree shaped, pine-scented air freshener, with u-ziq, In Pine Effect
on the front. Smells pine-y, but keeps the apartment foresty fresh. :)
On the vocal idm thread: Slowdive's 5 ep came to mind. In Mind is a
beautiful track. Also a separate cd of fairly by the numbers remixes
from Reload and Bandulu. Both on Creation.
Philip Downey