...recently added was the new byzar album, _gaiatronyk_, on asphodel. i
heard their debut 12-inch not too long ago and almost fell asleep; dreadful
post-spooky illbient foulness that sounded like it was recorded on a fisher
price four-track. this album, however, is a different beast altogether.
almost more of a beatoriented dark ambient thing similar to scorn or techno
animal, but with the beat textures so rich and the rhythmic programming so
engaging (in a quasi-repetitive autechre-meets-boymerang--the more techy
boymerang--fashion) you end up paying more attention to, say, the
fascinating scenery of your own subconscious than the undifferentiated murk
of reverb and lame, never-changing drum figures that are often the failing
of those artists. the beat tempi and pattern-styles hover somewhere in the
neighborhoods of hip-hop, electro, and jungle, but only really suggest
these, emerging against a deep, detailed field of bizarre (sorry, had to)
electronic bleeps, whirrs, hisses, and drones, the two complementing each
other rather than just confusing you into thinking something interesting is
happening. also vaguely reminiscent of bedouin ascent, witchman, and the
less silly moments of bowling green. by no means perfect, but way above
average. rating: 8
sc