quoted 5 lines A friend in the UK sent me this gift...>A friend in the UK sent me this gift...
>
>ï Repeat: Canada 12" (Unexplored Beats UNEX003)
>
>This is a stunning 4-tracker...[hyperbole deleted]...10/10
i was extremely excited when this item came up on the fax. imo, unexplored
beats is one of the most innovative, forward-thinking labels for new-school
electro, far more so than retro namecheckers like clear and rephlex. the
first two uxb twelves--"skool beats" by mark broom and "turnip in the mist"
by kruton--left me breathless, and i still have a rough time getting my
heard 'round "skool beats" a full year after it was released!
the repeats one, however, underwhelms in extremis, imho. while i liked what
i heard on the group's "south of market" ep on reflective, these tracks
just go nowhere special, flitting about with uninspired,
complexity-by-numbers (math electro?) rhythmic programming and not much
development anywhere else--a problem plaid tend to have in general, and one
present on "canada" to pretty glaring degree. (i think what made plaid-era
tbd so special--ken's melodic and thematic depth combined with plaid's
crazy beatwork--is also [with exceptions...the clear twelve, the studio
pressure remix, and the _blech_ track] what make the two so bland apart.)
also, i think comparing "canada" to the clear 12-inch (easily the best
thing that label ever put out...well, maybe next to _makesaracket_) is a
bit misguided.
sc