| BEAM / TESTSPINZ 015 |
  REVIEWS Testspinz: Albums + Singles Send vinyl 12"/CD for review consideration to:
Do You Really Want To Listen To Me?
Take everything that you know about past releases from Eat Static and throw it out the window. Now, if you will, step inside a funhouse of sound. A bizarre mind trip into the fantastic realm of unconventional thinking. From the beginning as you "Crash & Burn" along the rock rhythms and electronic beats of a 1950's Street Rod Race, you begin to wonder what is in store for you. Just as you catch your groove, you're then pulled down south of the border for an electronic fiesta of sound as the "Love Truncheon" brings together the flavor of Spanish music and the warbling 303. Did I mention the deep, pounding bass and funky trip-hop elements of the "Dervish Funk"? Whatever you desire, from the organic, to the strange, to the downright thumping, Eat Static will keep you moving. Oh, and another thing, watch out for the "Curious Dr. Hump." He's a real trip and you just might fond yourself being pulled into a strange 1960s movie. Then again, that might just be your thing. Wunjo
Imagine drum & bass and bits of techno from the mind of a mad, but brilliant scientist who understood about brain-wave telepathy. Sound structure that seemed to float by inharmoniously yet was compelling and lulled the listener to beckon, come closer. Drifting down the alleys of an old warehouse district in the fourth dimension or being pulled into a digital depravation tank, devoid of everything but sound. Odd, yet still intriguing. Continue to drift farther and the melody will still find you on another level, somewhere where you least expect it. The album seems almost recurrent, but somehow there are so many changes, again, you feel compelled to listen to the madness or genius of another. Brilliant just keeps coming through, but then, what's that make me? Wunjo
The Hard Leaders return for a third helping of the dark technical and nasty sounds that have become a favorite amongst the tech-steppers. With internationally acclaimed names such as Decoder, Manifest, Regulate, Served Chilled, and Ice Minus the beats come to beat your ear drums in. Classic rolling Amen breaks over a bass lines that rip your lungs from your chest is the standard formula concocted from these talented producers. The disc takes a bit of a softer turn after the soft vocals of Anna Karin Karlsson's guest appearance on "Come to me Feat". However the majority of this is for the fan that enjoys the faster, harder, and darker side of the music. AWT
Toronto-based label Interchill's latest offering is a compilation of 12 tracks of electronic music from various artists, some of whom (such as Suns of Arqa and Sounds from the Ground) will be familiar. Whoever made the selection did their job well because the quality of music remains high while the sound takes a journey through various styles of chill-out music, taking in ambient dub, quirky downtempo jazz and futuroid electronica. If ambient compilations are not very good they tend to make me feel like an item of unspecified pond life, but there are enough moments of quality and beauty here to hold the attention and keep you well out of amoeba-territory. The vibe reminds me in places of the "Feed your Head" series but overall the key word is definitely "electronica." It's not in the super-league with, say, Shpongle or Future Sound of London, but it's still very good and will serve as perfect accompaniment o those mashed-up moments. Ambient music is definitely alive and well. Best tracks? Difficult--but I think the Floex's "Com" and the haunting Indian Flute and lazy dub of Suns of Arqa's "Raga Misra Bilawal" are the winners for me. 8 1/2 out of 10. Alex Newman
Fake Plastic Songs
|
Artist: Boy George
Artist: Eat Static 
Artist: jega 
Artist: Various Artists
Artist: Various Artists
Artist: Various Artists
|