(idm) mailbag reviews

From cl
Sent Wed, Nov 4th 1998, 05:30

just scanned through the box i got today.  some old and some new.

low res-approximate love boat, alien interpretations....
plug research and development cd comp

the low res is probably the closest to what i think alien music would
be.
more downtempo and atmospheric (dark) than other pr releases of late,
but still excellent and another reason to put pr at the top of the heap
for
quality releases this year.  the comp is also strong, comprising 10 cuts

from the pr stable.  i already had the vinyl which seems to be a little
more beat friendly than the cd.  atmosphere, distorted beats, squelches-

the hallmark pr sound.  both are highly recommended.
btw-there were 2 copies of the research and development cd in the
case (no joke).  if anyone is interested, contact me for a trade.

mike dred/peter green-virtual farmer

i really need to put this on repeat- there is a lot going on at
different levels.
headphone factor is high as well with sounds "moving" around.  this
really
recalls the early rephlex sound of aphex and muziq, but with more
variety
and higher production values (doesnt sound like it was mastered from a
answering machine tape)at first listen. there have already been some
stellar
reviews on this and they are right on.

stereolab-aluminum tunes
3rd installment of the switched on series, this time spread out over
2cds.  if you
like the pre-emperor tomato ketchup groove of the lab, this is for you.
it is
not a weak collection of outtakes, but instead includes the hard to find

music for the amorphous body ep and single b-sides from 95-97.  beware
if
you are looking for dots and loops material.

lucky kitchen-blip bleep v/a
just as low res is alien, this is just like video games.  18 cuts was a
little too much
for me to absorb in one listen, but expect lo-fi nintendo esqe melodies
and beats.
btw-  a friend of mine  in flexible products has a song on this
comp.  i dont know if he is on the internet, but if anyone on the list
wants contact
info, let me know and i can forward it to him.

squarepusher-music is rotted one note
this has evoked some pretty strong reactions, but i really find this to
be the natural
progression of hard normal daddy.  certainly more jazzy, but the
structure seems
to be somewhat similar.  i would be surprised if someone really liked
one and not
the other.  hardly revolutionary, but some tracks gained my attention on
the first listen.

up next--
mask300/demon3/gescomTHAT

someone tell me why i got that damned frisbee?  its ugly and it doesnt
sound
very good at 33 or 45.

cl