You tripped and banged your head on the asphalt. When your hand went to your face, little speckled pebbles and a bit of dirt rolled off at the touch, and the bruise was already swelling. Behind the fence, the boombox is trying to eat your tape, Octavius’s Audio Noir, with the play button stuck. Your ears are full of busted hip-hop, drowned electronics, and vocals shouted and whispered from inside the smash-windowed abandoned house no one dares go near. Dalek and Sonic Sum have visited here, but everyone else has been too scared. You’re dizzy, after being knocked out for a terrifying moment.
Huntemann Discotech UK
Feeling a bit confused regarding the direction of top international club techno? Oliver Huntemann offers some vision with this massive, disco-infused synth pop, electro-tech jam. From a driving sixteenth-note progressive bassline to the squelching power of the distorted guitar lead, this one will appeal to headbangers and chrome shirts alike.
Percy X & Mark Broom Lady Killer
This pair reacquaints themselves with more crossover club rhythms, and the resulting fusion emits a taste of techno and the essence of house. A loopy yet definable progression, the feel of “Lady Killer” is scurried by solid analog drums and taunting stabs, while a clever effect algorhythm places the ambiance. Flip for a more traditional, tool-oriented funk monkey.
Cave The Carima EP
Following the frenzy surrounding his massive club hit “Carnival,” expectations have been high for this Norwegian to deliver more organic polyrhythmic fuel. Here he pairs Brazilian flavors with Logic Audio manipulation and goes for a bit of sample mayhem. With African vocals and full-fledged hedonist mood on tap, the sound is there-although the bus definitely stops short of the havin’-it “Carnival.”
Nagen & Saugen Deep Throat Rmxs
With the global success of their ’98 tune “Deep Throat,” Nagen and Saugen return, brandishing the winning entries from an internet contest to remix the damn thing. From funky and deep to filthy and hard, the contributing artists cover all the bases for a texturally varied techno remix EP. Although the bits become slightly monotonous, the overall versatility saves the day.
Various Artists Ladytron’s Softcore Jukebox
A veritable user’s guide to good taste, the new compilation from UK band Ladytron will bring good cheer to novice listeners and students of the Vidal Sassoon Academy alike. But what’s more interesting about Softcore Jukebox is the unveiling of Ladytron’s many influences-and what they’ve learned (and borrowed) from them. Happily, they don’t attempt to hide their copycatting: the Roxy Music-usurped cover art is, after all, a winking confessional. So with the release of what is more accurately a personal mixtape, Ladytron perhaps reposition themselves not as musicians but rather aestheticians. Vexing indeed, but since when has making things pretty been a crime?
Adventure Time Dreams Of Water Themes
Adventure Time will get you wet. The new amphibious vehicle from Daedelus and Frosty is draped in an aqueous motif for no apparent reason other than being sublimely creative. With Dreams of Water Themes, the Dublab colleagues have produced a record both beautiful and adventurous-as the title suggests, the album offers no real “songs” in the sense of structure or pattern. Rather, the music drifts freely and elegantly through the undocumented regions of hip-hop, free jazz and glitch pop. Fluid and feel-good, Dreams is another example of how mesmerizing these well-traveled producers can be.
Trans Am Liberation
Trans Am is living in a police state, and with Liberation, they’re not gonna take it anymore. Their seventh LP is a return to their signature Kraftwerk-meets-classic-rock-sound and marks the first time the Washington, D.C. trio has placed overt politics in their music. As my personal rule-of-thumb suggests, it should be their last. Public Enemy notwithstanding, soapbox musicianship invariably leads to one big buzzkill, and fun, as I recall, is what made Trans Am interesting in the first place. Although Liberation does have its stirring moments, the bumper-sticker politics of tracks like “Uninvited Guest” (guess who that refers to?) mar things too early and too often.
The Aluminum Group Morehappyness
Like vanilla Hâagen-Dazs, the Aluminum Group plays rich, creamy, no-nonsense pop music. Regardless of the premium brand, it’s still vanilla-and you’re invariably left craving a sprinkle or two. Morehappyness, the Aluminum Group’s latest, is more blandness from the brothers Navin: neatly arranged milieus of gliding synth and boy/boy harmonizing with impotent cameos from Tortoise and Sea & Cake. The album has an understated quality reminiscent of the Eames furniture collection after which they’re named, but overall Morehappyness evokes little emotion. It’s a good thing the Navins are gay, ’cause they’ll never get any pussy making this stuff.
Da Lata Serious
Borrowing influences and choice collaborators from around the world-including Malian singer Mamani Keita, Senegalese nightingale Baaba Maal, and British soul singer Jhelisa Anderson-Serious visits more foreign waters than a cruise ship. And though it’s a painfully short ride-just over half an hour long-the album contains exotic delicacies worth sampling. The title track finds weaving guitars and purring bass joining vibrant Afro-toned beats. “Distracted Minds” is a lovely, guitar-led vocal duet featuring Nina Miranda and Baaba Maal, whilst “Can It Be” underpins Courtney Denni’s wandering vocals with sticky beats and perfect keys. Serious is music seriously unconstrained by geographical boundaries.
