_Cichlisuite_ is uh, more Autechre. No real departure from the _Chiastic_
sound although there aren't as many blasts of white noise this time around.
Some vague layers and hints of melody. As with other Autechre stuff, I kind
of skim through it at first, put it away and then will probably drag it out
some point and enjoy it loads. And then never listen to it again. Ho-hum.
Plaids _Undoneson_ was probably the most eagerly awaited Warp release by me
for over a year now. Yeah, it kind of disappoints in that it's not an
immediate display of brilliance but the old sound I loved in _Bytes_ is
still there, just slightly less techno-esq - more breaks and more off-key
kind of humour but its not so freaky as the old BDP stuff. Still, I like it
lots - _Headspin_ is so subtle, it just creeps in and comes together
beautifully. _Undoneson_ is pure, skewed Black Dog (as was). _Spudink_ is
my favourite but thats cos I'm continually a sucker for Detroit-esq chords
and electro beatz and this is a nice little take on that sound. A pretty
good record.
Also picked up the Max 404 _Before and After EP_ promo on Universal
Language - really good mix of styles. One track of funky Gerd style techno,
one of smooth, dreamy (but pretty good - no mindless Korg washes)
drum'n'bass and one of typical Global Comms./Secret Ingredients building
house. Very competent and a nice 'complete' EP - different styles but the
tracks have a similar sound and complement each other.
New Ersatz Audio split EP is good - Le Car electro burblings up against
some more IDM stuff. Ian O'Briens _Tattoo Jazz_ on 4th Wave is also smooth
and cheery but he's getting too close to the Mad Mike _Galaxy 2 Galaxy_
sound for comfort. Nice and happy though so I bought it because heck, I'm a
happy kind of guy.
|| [CiM]
|| simonw@sol.ftp.com
|| -