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Obliquely droning electronics are soon enough pleasingly pummeled by the swaggering drum stylings of Hummer, setting a high level of audio-enjoyment which the whole disc tends to meet.
Trickling electrons pulsate rhythmically with the beats and radiance of Tired Patois. Miniature xylophonics and a light dub-bass open Webbed, accented by microscopic textures, then hip, hoppin' drum tricks.
The less-beaty track named Errol presents itself as a swirling miasma of twinkling notes and hovering haze, along with here-then-gone rhythmics. A stand-up bass sound leads the way through
Invercargil (4:09), followed by steady drumming and various synth parts, and brief radiodistortions.
Elastic bass pulsations, mid-tempo beats and other glitchy quirks take A Bob Each Way (G Beat) to a zone of strangely pleasant weirdness, where a "naughty" (and self-amused) phone conversation is overheard, as are bloopy keyboard riffs.
You get two beatsystems for the price of one with Traffic Islander (7:12); the piece opens on wavering oscillations and a bamboo-ey tribal clatter, but evolves to pick up an additional, more urban beat, coexisting interestingly. Layers of warmly buzzing synth drifts are added to the mix.
With reverberating keyboard meanderings and down-tempo percussion, Maple oozes a more-mysterious air of unsettled dreaminess.
A soft and bleepy entry into Loose Circuits is pumped up by a thrumming bassbeat and sharp syncopation. The whole thing winds up at Cul de Sac, a faint, scritchy ambient ballad of gently lovely tones, brassy echoes and sparse beats.
I don't usually make cross-act comparisons, but these releases (see also Patio's Parallel Play and Signer's Giving it up to Feel Affected) are simply the coolest ambient/electronic beat-oriented things I've heard since getting hooked on the Boards of Canada.
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