CDs on heavy rotation recently:
- Proem "Burn Plate No. 1" ... This album has near-perfect balance
between those delicious, crunchy beats and those sweet, catchy
melodies. So many try for this, and so many some how don't quite come
close for me. Definitely a classic. Back in heavy rotation due to
the imminent release of his second album on Merck, which I hope is at
least half as good. I wasn't quite so fond of the Too Many Cookies EP
from Mono211, but then, me without a burner the last three months, and
the tracks being in MP3, I haven't had much opportunity to digest
them. [And hey, people, can the list get together for once and put up
$500 towards Sonic Therapy's release of the Proem 12" they have? I'll
pay 25 - only 19 more of us need to do that to get it out...]
- Gimmik "Slow Motion Process" ... Everyone loves it - well, I do,
too. More pop-ish playfulness from the master, although I was
slightly disappointed that four of the best tracks here were on the
previous 12" on Worm Interface. I'm glad to have them on CD, though.
I don't know how to describe it, other than crystalline beauty,
fragile yet sturdy. This is another one we (well, some of us) will be
referring to and listening to for a long time.
- Jake Mandell "Parallel Processes" ... Older album from Jake, and his
best in my opinion. Everytime I get new material from him it just
makes me want to go back and re-listen to this album. Digital mayhem
at its structured best? I don't know; I suck at music descriptions.
The cover drawing of a box with all these wires coming out of it and
tangling up says it best. If you don't have any Mandell and are
thinking of getting one of his newer releases, I'd suggest trying this
one out first.
- Freeform "Green Park" ... shorter album from the Pyke master, out at
the end of '99, but back in rotation for me since he's coming out with
a ton of stuff this year, and I guess I'm sort of trying to prepare
myself. His recent representationon Substancia 3 from Quartermass was
the standout of that compilation for my money. Bisk was nice there,
too, but other than that... Anyway, Green Park is one of those albums
that's deceptively simple on the top; fans of him probably won't like
it at first, but it definitely grows.
- Richard Devine "Lipswitch" ... glitch haters need not apply, though
I'm generally not interested in the glitch or dsp movement, either. I
just think he's downright excellent. Blissful headphone carwreck
music, that's not really as complex or difficult as people tend to
think.
OTHERS:
- Fizzarum "Monochrome Plural" ... the first thing I thought when I
started this CD was, "Proem." Seriously, to me, they sound similar,
though they're obviously different. I don't think this CD will be as
classic or long-lasting for me as Proem's is, nor do I play it much
right now, but it's lovely, and if you don't have too large of a "buy"
list, go give it a spin.
- Leafcutter John "Microcontact" ... Haven't had a chance to give it
the appropriate level of attention, but my first initial reaction is:
"the Concourse E.E.P. was better; this is more of the same." We'll
see, though - it's not fair to judge things too rashly after one
listen.
- Delarosa & Asora "Backsom EP" ... Am I the only one who doesn't get
it? And I heard some MP3s of Agony which didn't excite me much,
either. But then I also heard some samples of the new Tortoise that
didn't seem too great, and I love Tortoise. We'll see what happens
when I get enough cash scraped together to hear them proper.
Oh, and for all the hubbub on the list today, I don't even have the
Prefuse 73 record, let alone have I heard any of it... :P
--
Adam Piontek [
http://www.tcinternet.net/users/damek/]
ICQ: 3456339 [damek@earthling.net]