time for a slew of short (i promise) reviews...
i don't waste my time reviewing 'bad' records, so these are all aces.
it's all just a matter of degree... ;-)
GuerillaG2-G4/ gg
AMBUSH - gain EP 12" (possible records - DOSS006)
why has this rec. been getting such a bad rap? like all Possible vinyl, it's
doubly enjoyable. slow and freaky at 33rpm... hard and tense at 45rpm. darker
than the underbelly of your house at either speed. a fairly simple rhythm on the
a-side, and a generous helping of tremulous shimmers and bass shivers. "up for
it 704" flirts with Industrial on the flipside, wooing the Dive-like beats with
sci-fi synth squelches. interesting for the emphasis of atmosphere over
breakbeat complexity. and nothing like the other Possible titles. give it a spin
and make up your own mind, but (at 45rpm) it's easily worth a ****. another gem.
anyone seen an extra copy of the Jupiter Crew 12" (DOSS005) floating around?
ANIMALS ON WHEELS - baits bite 12" (bovinyl - BOVE004)
matt (vert) tells me that BOVE003 is still in custody over at Bovinyl Central,
hence the jump from BOVE002 (the Vert 12"). stuff yr darkcore and hardstep - or
leave it to the kiddies on the Floor. AoW (Andrew Coleman) is where its @; a
carefree piano melody pli?s across "day pert" on tippy-toes, until those
mean-ol' hiccoughing backmasked-timestretch breaks trip it. this is Bukem tossed
in the trash compactor, chewed up, spit out, a pained ghost of his aquatic self,
haunting the clubs and moaning his anguish to all who will listen. not a pretty
sight, but nonetheless an A+ tune. A2 digests the Reflective stable and
projectile vomits it across a Nonplace Urban Field record spinning at 45rpm.
what a mess! what a sound! three flipside tracks cover Oriental pluck n' klang
("soluble ducks") and a controlled core-meltdown at the nuclear jazz factory
("not on the agenda"), rounded off with a round of painfully compressed beats
more effective than any 15 minute electro-indulgence. ****1/2; minus half a "*"
for the pointless vocal outro.
V/A: BIG BEATS (dust II dust - SPECCD502)
Plastic Scene... Mother Nature's Cloud & Shower Show... Moog... Red Myers....
WHO?! Headrillaz and an exclusive Mellowtrons track (:-D) are more familiar
ground, but the unknowns are just as impressive. HERE are yr block-rockin' and
bias-tumblin' beats, a HipHop underground which tunnels under the Beasties and
the entire Wall of Sound label. not much separates Unsung Heroes from Outkast.
_Big Beats_ could be BIG ... if anyone above-ground [sic] hears it. but the
James Bond-isms are getting stale, even if Funky Monkey's "The Hitman 2/Lovesong
for a Hitman" is a shiny exploding bullet which squarely hits the pleasure
centers of yr brain. another top Lee Walker track (new Mellowtrons LP due out
soon on Rawkus, in the US at least!), fine guitar-charged DiscoDub from Lee Van
Cleef and Puff (Rob Aitken & Simon Mattocks. where have i heard those names
before?), the Headrillaz-like 12 From a Dozen... those Headrillaz themselves
(sounding crazy as ever), Mr. Dan's shimmying slow-grind House. great mix of
Dust2Dust vinyl classics and many exclusives. stop Pussyfooting, Wiseguys. get
it. no Liam or Noel in sight. for that alone.... ****
FRETLESS AZM - astral cinema (holistic - HOLCD27)
Max Brennan returns for another communique from Planet Fretless. a new crew
(Paul Butler, Tom Vernon, Simon Leach) joins Brennan. if you know Brennan, you
know and love the sound; melodies so saturated with da funk that soul oozes from
every beat. Brennan's matchless skills as a (fretless) bassist make everyone -
and everything - around you ache to join the dance. jazz/techno fusion - hot
buttered soul food - nary a trace of clich?. a sedate return after his great LP
as Maxwell House (Peacefrog). too slippery and limber to be pigeonholed; it's
not drum n' bass and it's not tripslop... just pure Fretless excellence. Red
Snapper-headz take note. shit, man... EVERYONE take note! *****
FUNKI PORCINI - let's see what carmen can do EP (ninja tune - ZEN CDS50)
the last Funki platter stretched beats until your knees buckled; the latest
stretches voices and melodies until that point where your mind caves in. back to
the jazzfunktricknology of classic Ninja, augmented with ticklish Hammond B-3
runs and breakbeats as light and fickle as puffs of smoke. "...carmen" and
"sally wants to be a surgeon" are the standouts, completely unpredictable
lurches between breakz afire and squealing sax. the ferocity defuses any
suggestion of easy-listening malaise. mellow to a fine chill with "surge" and
fade-out with the Pythonesque cut-up "pete pete pete." another Porcini's Prime
Cut. album time? ****
V/A: MILLENNIUM GROOVES (dust II dust - SPECCD501)
a body Dub-ble companion-piece for _Big Beats_, again collecting tracks from the
Dust II Dust archives. less Hip, more Hop, but many of the same names: Lee Van
Cleef/Disco Direction/Cane (three tags for that Aitken & Mattocks pairing),
Moog, Danmass ("Mr. Dan" Carey + Massimo from Kettle of Fish). the lyrical rub
is traded for dub in da HEEE-OUSE! you like-a The Woodshed? you'll love-a this.
top track goes to The Stuntmen (Phil Benedictus and Moose) and their potent "Get
On It." Snappy Sid (the godlike pairing of Paul (Luger) Thomas and Robin
Scanner) pop up at the end with "beautiful morning," a fantastic atmospheric
Jungle number. high energy, but not HI-NRG. . . so it feels incongruous. still
great, though. ***1/2
RUDE 66 - the devil's highway (silver records - SIRE004)
overdriven 303s and cheeky humor are always a winning combination. another bunch
of Koen Lybaert's friends, another platter of Acid splashdown techno. a nice
garage feel to this one, loose and informal. pliable grooves in fine RAC style
("Re-create;" "Terrifying") and sweaty House workouts ("Pumpkin"). in line with
Warp's AI posse, especially Polygon Window, FUSE, and B12. the fresh combination
of familiar "nostalgic" electro-sounds, the RDJ-caught-in-a-hurricane sweep of
"The Holsteins Visit the Grand Canyon," and a sparkling Starfish Pool remix add
up to a record well worth checking out. ***1/2
THE SIDEWINDER - Implant EP 12" (lo fibre 03)
Justin Broadrick's label is following closely in Possible's footsteps, in terms
of both quality and attack. another 45/33 title, wicked at the slower speed (and
twice as wicked when you push the temp). if you heard _Colonized_, you know the
score. seven more tracks of minimal/primitive/repetitive electronic groove
torture from Broadrick and Kevin Martin. studded with bits of razoring
frequencies which carve up your ears when you lower your guard. several tracks
have the scythe-swoop feel of Cristian Vogel and Neil Landstrumm. could be one
of the most assaultive musical projects in the history of sound. beware. *****
(***1/2 at '45, since the slower build-up amplifies the lip-smacking aggression)
SQUAREPUSHER - (?) 12" (rumbletumjum - rtj001)
this is a Riot Beats joke, right? if this was one of Jenkinson's first records,
why didn't it make him the hottest property since Louisiana???? massively fugged
up, beyond any description, beyond any logic or reason. PULVERIZING! with a bass
pulse throbbing under breakbeat shrapnel. not as polished as the Rephlex and
Work Interface tracks, but more successful than "Vic Acid" at integrating
303-bangin' technoise with high-tension D 'n' B. as weird and arresting as Derek
Bailey's _Guitar, Drums 'n' Bass_ (Avant) - and THAT's saying something! may i
suggest the term 'Stun 'n' Bass'? the roughest comparison i can fathom is Thomas
Heckmann remixing Alec Empire's Jaguar gear. it's for records like this that you
convince yourself to wake up each morning and face the onslaught of a new day.
*****+
TO ROCOCO ROT - veiculo (city slang - CDSLANG 4990)
Kriedler blokes kraft a masterwerk of Man vs Machine electronica; accent on the
'electro'. the synth plasticity of Mouse on Mars and Can's polycrystalline
_Future Days_... the cerebral funk of Cybotron and Carl Craig. reference your
Tortoises and Trans Ams if you wish, but these are uncharted Krautvassers. so
damn intelligent it hurts your scalp; the track numbers are puzzling, though.
why does it skip from 10 to 12, end at 14, but register as 13 tracks!? and that
sleeve art looks suspiciously like factory-made matzoh. (how festive!) but do
you care about such trivialities when you're behind the wheel of your
_Vehiculo_, motoring down the Autobahn? ****1/2 (Kriedler's _Weekend_(PIAS/Kiff)
is a *****)
(i have more if you want 'em....)