Autechre:
Exai:
Warp:
Out now
7/10
In which the Rochdale mind-manglers continue their assault on the ears of anyone crazy enough to listen - me included. Their eleventh album, a double CD/quadruple vinyl set, is no less uncompromising than 2010's Oversteps, although some of the pummeling that your speakers will take after the first 60 minutes is more prevalent.
Far from a perfect melange, Exai (or XI, the roman for 11, another correlation between Autechre's release chronology and their album-titles) would have made a better single disc. Highlights are still plentiful though - disc one is perhaps the most consistent with irlite(getO) sounding like their erstwhile '80s Aussie equivalents Severed Heads, jatevee C recalling Derrick May's less danceable efforts and Bladelores triumphantly negotiating 12 minutes of treated syndrums, acid burps and the soundtrack to being operated on while still conscious.
Disc two's 1 1 is sounds like Cabaret Voltaire head-fisting a steam-turbine and runrepik is a busy shuffle best suited to cycling against motorway traffic. Or maybe I'm just using my imagination a little too much when describing what these crazy, beautiful tracks are actually for.
Still Warp's most challenging and rewarding act since the heady days of Artificial Intelligence.
Exai:
Warp:
Out now
7/10
Far from a perfect melange, Exai (or XI, the roman for 11, another correlation between Autechre's release chronology and their album-titles) would have made a better single disc. Highlights are still plentiful though - disc one is perhaps the most consistent with irlite(getO) sounding like their erstwhile '80s Aussie equivalents Severed Heads, jatevee C recalling Derrick May's less danceable efforts and Bladelores triumphantly negotiating 12 minutes of treated syndrums, acid burps and the soundtrack to being operated on while still conscious.
Disc two's 1 1 is sounds like Cabaret Voltaire head-fisting a steam-turbine and runrepik is a busy shuffle best suited to cycling against motorway traffic. Or maybe I'm just using my imagination a little too much when describing what these crazy, beautiful tracks are actually for.
Still Warp's most challenging and rewarding act since the heady days of Artificial Intelligence.