CD Reviews
Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM
AUTECHRE
Quaristice (Warp)
Veteran madness
Since 1987, Autechre's sole operators, Rob Brown and Sean Booth, have plowed over the limits of how pronounced, ghastly and machinelike one can get his compositions to sound if enough time is spent in front of a few analog synths, samplers and a Mac. Quaristice is as exhausting as any of the glitch-ridden, catastrophe-mimicking series of LPs that the British duo has written before this one, and these 20 tracks shouldn't be cheated out of an attentive ear. As tired and oft-used as the phrase tends to be, to truly live the cinema-size electronic funnel clouds on Autechre's 2008 effort, a pair of headphones is an absolute must.
Quaristice parts its curtain on a web of brassy synth interplay: “Altibzz” is hardly representative of what follows, somewhat mirroring Tri Repetae++'s slower-moving melodies (although those beauties rest on scattering percussive counterparts) circa 1996. Unglued, squealing beats here wear the IDM genre tag that has otherwise shifted out of earshot completely (“IO,” “Perlence”), but the techno sounds of “90101-51-1,” as well as the backward-swirling car crash of “Fol3,” propel the devilish mayhem sputtering beneath this innovative ninth album. — Dominic Umile
BAUHAUS
Go Away White (Bauhaus/Cooking Vinyl)
Swan song of the goth gods
Bauhaus is the quintessential goth-rock trio. After 30 years, with few releases and some occasional touring, Bauhaus has risen from the dead once again — as they often did onstage, dressed as vampires — for its final album. From the sounds of it, that's a good thing. Guitarist Daniel Ash uses a wah-wah pedal that belonged to Jimi Hendrix, creating a teeth-grinding effect on “Adrenaline.” “Undone” has excessively vampy vocals that borrow heavily from Velvet Underground. But maybe their time has past: Bauhaus influences AFI, and now they seem like a pale imitation. — John Brandon
BISC1
When Electric Night Falls (Embedded)
Dark meets light
Bisc1 gets off to a rough start on his debut with the hurried flow he uses on the opening track, “Night Fall.” Fortunately, the MC gets a hold of his delivery for the rest of When Electric Night Falls — an album based around a blend of elevating raps and overcast, spaced-out production. The suspenseful “Pandemonium” is a strong statement about not taking life for granted, coupled with a creepy cinematic-styled beat. Given the stirring subject matter, it's odd how the production isn't more upbeat. But Bisc1 isn't all about the feel-good faction of hip-hop. — Max Herman
CARL CRAIG
Sessions (!K7)
Back to front to back
On his retrospective double disc, Sessions, Carl Craig quells the notion that electronic dance music has the shelf life of milk. Culled over his 20-year career, the expanse of original productions and remixes collected shrug off the idea of primitive tones and elementary production. If anything, the earlier compositions, such as Paperclip People's “Throw” with Craig's signifying bass lines, have a larger impact due to the hefty memories they carry with them. Elsewhere, his remix of Faze Action's orchestral “In the Trees” gives a hypnotic tone to the track that makes it a dancefloor staple. — Lily Moayeri
EVOL INTENT
Era of Diversion (Evol Intent)
Pissed pummeling
Aside from an awkward hip-hop or metal component, Georgia drum 'n' bass producers Evol Intent score well on Era of Diversion, with skittery rhythms and fragmented glitch electronica that slip into downtempo at random. The title track is vicious at the onset, with Bush's backward agenda (packaged in speechwriter sheen) prefacing a storm of breaks and synth squeals. “I'm Happy Your Grave Is Next to Mine” isn't driven by Republican lies, but the structure is just as deceptive: An early melody might lull us to sleep save for the subsequent barreling bass and percussive battle axes. Severe. — Dominic Umile
FINK
Distance and Time (Ninja Tune)
Techno artist changes tune
Fink's transformation from ambient electronic artist with a taste for rave to a singer/songwriter challenging José González for the title of most raw pensive folk artist of the past year is somewhat of a shocker. It's also a welcome change. Distance and Time is stripped down to the core with its acoustic guitar, soft pulsating beats and honest heartfelt lyrics. No wonder John Legend and Amy Winehouse love this guy. Fink may have left his techno sound behind, but he's replaced it with rhythmically emotive folk and a hint of dub, as on “This Is the Thing” and “Blueberry Pancakes.” — Jason Jurgens
HAALE
No Ceiling (Channel A)
Telling her own fortune
Persian-American singer Haale hails from the Bronx, and during her early years, she was inspired by her father's Dostoevsky novels, Jimi Hendrix and the sounds of traditional Sufi singing. Remarkably, all of those influences can be discerned throughout her new set, in songs like the trance-y “Off Duty Fortune Teller,” the striking title track and the rumbling undercurrent of “Zero to One.” Haale exemplifies the meaning of world music in her songs, combining a pretty potpourri of sounds from disparate elements to create a mystically poetic stew grounded by the complex rock rhythms of her bandmates. — Kristi Kates
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