IDM Mailing Archive

quoted 7 lines superstar <tremblay@fas.harvard.edu>

>>> > >superstar <tremblay@fas.harvard.edu> > >second: does anyone know anything about the animals on wheels album out on >ninja tune? available on LP so far; any knowledge of the CD release in >either a UK or domestic format? if so, any reviews?

<<< it's always good to have yer existance justified before getting in too deep. got this on fri - us release, tower rex 'round the corner from yer e-mail address actually, in the sq. $13, tho' only had one copy.... keep those peepers peeled. animals on wheels/designs and mistakes/cd/ninja tune yes. lovely is not an adjective i would have imagined applying to a so called drill'n'bass lp. i don't really know what i was expecting from an animals on wheels full length effort. the erratic playfulness of previous tracks i heard, often suggested that mr wheels could as likely as not be playing w/ lighter fluid and matches, split as they were between naive melodies of some charm and industrial meltdown mayhem. often at the same time. so while we are definately in skip/stutter',n'rush territory w/ the drums sometimes being mixed on another planet where they have invented louder amps, for the most part the drills stay in the shed. opener "palid" features some fine, jazzy piano, offset against a propulsive percussion track. the keyboard work throughout deserves mention, ranging between that warm'n'hazy analogue synth sound, and real (sounding? - remember, nothing is true everything is permitted) piano. next up "toasted bot bop" doesn't fiddle much w/ the drum track, we're off on another snare rush. there's more distortion here, and for the fist time, but by no means the last, i am picturing mu-ziq's remix of the twin's "on", put thru' the drum'n'bass blender. before we get used to the tempo, in comes "soluble ducks" w/ its glacial ambience. ok so the drums can't quite stick to the description 'clicky', weighing in with the odd thud and crash. but the pace remains sedate. "nodding dogs" has a the funkiest guy in the world on a single snare. y'know the one - he played on all the early good hip-hop records. by now the recording is displaying an astounding melodic depth matched w/ a range and maturity that's surprising from a debut long player. "family" - the current highlight for me, opens w/ a melody that wierdly takes me to the scottish highlands. until the animals crash into the kitchen and break out the pots and pans. after a short pause mr wheels carries on manfully pumping away at the melodies, tho' the animals now appear to have a small orchestra of toy piano's and before y'know it we're belting thru' the heather w/ fur flying. a marvellous combination that finishes cruelly early, after what seems like about 2 mins (tho' i think its ~4?). lo points - "fall like dandruff" may be a bit too pleasant and meandery. "loath"'s distorto beats may frighten small children, pets or anyone w/ an unusually nervous disposition. er, "eggshell" is v. splintered and noodly. i'm trying to be picky here, y'could say in general that the pace of invention slackens in the latter stages. tho' the closer, "stan's soluble fish" is abstract splintering future jazz of the finest order. lovely. -martin