Show #692 – 12/10/23

December 10, 2023 at 2:45 am | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

12:00 AM Vanishing Twin ~ Brain Weather ~ Afternoon X ~ Fire Records ~ 2023
12:03 AM Meadow Argus ~ Air to the Rock ~ The Chameleon’s Dish ~ Aural Canyon ~ 2023
12:09 AM Motion Sickness Of Time Travel ~ Mental Projection ~ Seeping Through the Veil of the Unconscious ~ Digitals ~ 2010
12:13 AM Ekin Fil ~ Fin ~ Ghosts Inside ~ The Helen Scarsdale Agency ~ 2017
12:17 AM Rafael Anton Irisarri ~ Fright and Control ~ Peripeteia ~ Dais Records ~ 2020
12:22 AM Natural Wonder Beauty Concept ~ Young Adult Fiction ~ Natural Wonder Beauty Concept ~ Mexican Summer ~ 2023
12:27 AM Spencer Zahn ~ Two Cranes ~ Statues I ~ Cascine ~ 2023
12:32 AM Dennis Brown ~ Up-Full One ~ The Exit ~ VP Records ~ 1986
12:35 AM Gibraltar Drakus ~ O Zanzibar ~ Hommage a Zanzibar ~ Awesome Tapes From Africa ~ 1989
12:40 AM Titi Bakorta ~ Laisse Moi Dancer ~ Molende ~ Nyege Nyege Tapes ~ 2023
12:43 AM Nakibembe Embaire Group ~ Baligabana ~ Nakibembe Embaire Group ~ Nyege Nyege Tapes ~ 2023
12:46 AM Elvin Brandhi & Lord Spikeheart ~ Do You Like Feeling Awakeee33 Cult 8 Again ~ Drunken Love ~ Hakuna Kulala ~ 2023
12:50 AM Kool Keith ~ I’m Seein’ Robots ~ Black Elvis / Lost In Space ~ Columbia/Legacy ~ 1999
12:54 AM NHK yx Koyxen ~ Vacuum and You ~ Climb Downhill 1 ~ Hypercolour ~ 2023
12:59 AM Spencer Zahn ~ OST ~ Statues II ~ Cascine ~ 2023
1:03 AM John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy ~ Impressions ~ Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane ~ Impulse! ~ 1961
1:14 AM EQ Why ~ Sixteen 33 ~ Dance Floor ~ Orange Milk ~ 2023
1:18 AM Fracture ~ All of the Massive ~ All of the Massive EP ~ Astrophonica ~ 2023
1:23 AM /f ~ clickbait ~ mixtapeqponeoxstem navarious saliepq as etc ~ self-released ~ 2023
1:25 AM Matmos ~ Mud-Dauber Wasp ~ Return to Archive ~ Smithsonian Folkways Recordings ~ 2023
1:29 AM Utah Saints ~ Anything Can Happen ~ Something Good 12″ ~ FFRR ~ 1992
1:32 AM Joey Beltram & Program 2 ~ The Omen (Psycho Mix) ~ 12″ ~ R&S ~ 1991
1:38 AM Optic Nerve ~ Factor It N [Mix 1] ~ Strand Meets Optic Nerve ~ Puzzlebox Records ~ 2021
1:43 AM Evian Christ ~ Xkyrgios ~ Revanchist ~ Warp Records ~ 2023
1:49 AM Oneohtrix Point Never ~ Nightmare Paint ~ Again ~ Warp Records ~ 2023
1:53 AM Airiel ~ Wasteland Cupid (1997 Unreleased Demo) ~ Winks & Kisses (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) ~ FEELTRIP RECORDS ~ 1997

Meadow Argus: The Chameleon’s Dish tape (Aural Canyon, 2023)

December 3, 2023 at 1:46 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Meadow Argus: The Chameleon’s Dish tape

The new Meadow Argus tape layers vocals from some sort of meditation tape over vibrating industrial drone. On side A, “Color Wheel”. a calm, evenly paced voice directs you to different colors and shapes, and constantly asks how these things make you feel. Later on, he starts talking at a quicker pace and directs you to focus on a plant. I’ll be honest, I’m way more interested in focusing on the drone loops rather than the narrator. The loops are hypnotic but not smoothed out and relaxing, there’s distant squeals and shrieks which become more audible near the end. “Air to the Rock”, side B, has the same voice, talking about staring up at fluffy clouds. The music seems appropriate for skygazing but it’s still a bit abrasive, noisy, acidic, and clangy. There’s a well-timed moment of deep-inner-space trippiness before the narrator starts talking about seeing the auras of people around you. I kind of drifted out after that but I guess that’s appropriate.

Show #691 – 12/3/23

December 3, 2023 at 12:51 pm | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

12:01 AM Eki Shola ~ For You ~ Kaeru ~ Eki Shola ~ 2023
12:04 AM Vince Clarke ~ White Rabbit ~ Songs of Silence ~ Mute ~ 2023
12:09 AM Niecy Blues ~ Cascade ~ Exit Simulation ~ kranky ~ 2023
12:12 AM TALsounds ~ Still Talking ~ Shift ~ NNA Tapes ~ 2023
12:16 AM Idle Ray ~ Unremarkable Things ~ Corridors of Summer – Single ~ Life Like ~ 2023
12:19 AM Hotline TNT ~ Spot Me 100 ~ Cartwheel ~ Third Man Records ~ 2023
12:23 AM Ozean ~ Fall ~ Ozean ~ Numero Group ~ 1993
12:27 AM Airiel ~ Kiss Me Slowly (2000 Demo Version) ~ Winks & Kisses (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) ~ FEELTRIP RECORDS ~ 2000
12:32 AM Yui Onodera & Takashi Kokubo ~ Thousand Bells, Pt. 2 ~ Thousand Bells EP ~ Constellation Tatsu ~ 2023
12:35 AM Niecy Blues ~ Bones Become the Trees ~ single ~ Mexican Summer ~ 2021
12:39 AM Kissen ~ 2 Swords ~ single ~ Mansions and Millions ~ 2023
12:44 AM V/Z S Suono Assente ~ Suono Assente ~ AD 93 ~ 2023
12:49 AM Actress ~ Azd Rain ( g 1 ) ~ LXXXVIII ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
12:53 AM Black Rave Culture ~ Track Hawk ~ Black Rave Culture Vol 3 ~ Black Rave Culture ~ 2023
12:58 AM Suzi Analogue & Jlin ~ Nice 2 Meet U ~ single ~ Disciples ~ 2023
1:03 AM Yaeji ~ easy breezy ~ single ~ XL Recordings ~ 2023
1:06 AM PinkPantheress ~ Capable of love ~ Heaven knows ~ Warner Records ~ 2023
1:10 AM The Sindecut & Ijeoma ~ Soldier (Tyke Remix) ~ single ~ Tru Thoughts ~ 2023
1:14 AM Kylie Minogue ~ Things We Do For Love ~ Tension ~ Liberator Music ~ 2023
1:17 AM Heins Hoffman-Richter (aka Rod McKuen, believe it or don’t) ~ 2nd Movement: This Is My Beloved’s Chamber ~ Music to Freak Your Friends and Break Your Lease ~ Real Gone Music ~ 1974
1:26 AM Danny Brown ~ Celibate (feat. MIKE) ~ Quaranta ~ Warp Records ~ 2023
1:29 AM Aesop Rock ~ Living Curfew (feat. billy woods) ~ Integrated Tech Solutions ~ Rhymesayers ~ 2023
1:33 AM CZARFACE & Kool Keith ~ Live From Czarnegie Hall ~ CZARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ~ Silver Age ~ 2023
1:36 AM G Jones ~ Which Way ~ Paths ~ Illusory Records ~ 2023
1:39 AM Shinra Knives ~ I’ll Talk ~ Protect Me from What I Want ~ YUKU ~ 2023
1:44 AM Govlink ~ En X Solve ~ Psychic Warfare EP ~ Deathbysheep Records ~ 2023
1:48 AM Catthew O. (aka Bubblegum Octopus) ~ Anticipation Threshold ~ Shroud Again ~ self-released ~ 2023
1:50 AM CDR ~ 07 ~ 2023.6.28 ~ RDC Records ~ 2023
1:54 AM Yorobi ~ Oic (Original) ~ Projection Palace EP ~ On My Own Terms/ Time ~ 2023

Eki Shola: 還 (Kaeru) (self-released, 2023)

December 2, 2023 at 6:04 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Eki Shola: 還 (Kaeru)

Eki Shola’s fifth album is her most collaborative release, and easily her most fully realized so far. She recorded it in Japan with Uma Ebina (shamisen and shakuhachi), Tatsuya Okabayashi (Mongolian Morin Khuur), and drummer Hidenori Tsugita, and the unique instrumentation and group dynamics add an expanded depth to her songs. She first visited Japan 20 years ago as a medical student, and this album is a sort of homecoming, physically and spiritually. “For You” has a gently grooving beat and swirling keyboards, but the stringed instruments are the stars. “Kaeru” is more of an introspective funk jam about finding one’s home. The tense, reality-questioning “What Is” is followed by the more relaxed, reverie-like “Falling”. “Forest” has both dub effects and spiritual new age vibes. “Unity” is a conscious semi-rap about having hope for humanity, and “Not Afraid to Hope” turns the lyrical focus inward. Finally, “Starry” offers words of encouragement, most notably “Do it for yourself”. The whole album has a comfortable, spontaneous flow to it. These aren’t pop songs, but moments of inspiration, reflection, and camaraderie, with rhythms and hopeful lyrics that unfold at a natural pace.

Crush Collision 11/30/23

December 1, 2023 at 12:28 am | Posted in Crush Collision | Leave a comment

10:00 PM Toxicated Keys ~ Mugwanthi (feat. Kgadiiey & LADY GUPTA) ~ single ~ Pssngr ~ 2023
10:05 PM Actress ~ Oway ( f 7 ) ~ LXXXVIII ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
10:08 PM Gerald Cleaver ~ Yeah ~ 22 / 23 ~ Positive Elevation / 577 Records ~ 2023
10:13 PM G Jones ~ Liminality ~ Paths ~ Illusory Records ~ 2023
10:16 PM Nahash ~ Davide XV (feat. Elise Massoni) ~ A Snake in Your House EP ~ SVBKVLT ~ 2023
10:19 PM Blawan ~ Under Belly ~ Woke Up Right Handed EP ~ XL Recordings ~ 2021
10:23 PM Nihar ~ Mercy on Thee ~ Zum Audio, Vol. 5 ~ Zum ~ 2023
10:27 PM Chrisman ~ Pomba Gqom ~ Dozage ~ Hakuna Kulala ~ 2023
10:31 PM DJ Lag ft. Blxckie ~ Kwenzekalan ~ single ~ Black Major x Ice Drop ~ 2023
10:33 PM Rezzett ~ Extra Redundant ~ Boshly EP ~ The Trilogy Tapes ~ 2023
10:37 PM Sascha Funke ~ Fasson ~ Kompakt: Total 21 ~ Kompakt ~ 2021
10:40 PM Special Interest ~ LA Blues (Marie Davidson Remix) ~ Endure (Remixed) ~ Rough Trade ~ 2023
10:46 PM Yann Tiersen ~ Ker al Loch (Terence Fixmer Remix 2) ~ Kerber Complete ~ Mute ~ 2023
10:48 PM Nyra ~ Broken Needs ~ 20 Years Of Phonica ~ Phonica ~ 2023
10:54 PM Laurent Garnier ~ Le Swing du Pouletto ~ 33 Tours Et Puis S’en Vont ~ COD3 QR ~ 2023
11:04 PM Dsum ~ State of Acid ~ Acid Delivery ~ Back Door Records ~ 2023
11:11 PM Föllakzoid ~ V-III ~ V ~ Sacred Bones Records ~ 2023
11:20 PM Tecture ~ Gamma Rays ~ Anomalous Materials EP ~ Tilt ~ 2019
11:26 PM Mani Festo ~ Side Hustle ~ Dance Trax, Vol. 57 ~ Dance Trax ~ 2023
11:30 PM Roska ~ Boogie with Me (feat. Kristie Killick) ~ single ~ RKSUKG ~ 2023
11:32 PM PinkPantheress ~ The aisle ~ Heaven knows ~ Warner Records ~ 2023
11:34 PM Duke ~ Duke Selecta ~ Early Instrumentals ~ Nyege Nyege Tapes ~ 2023
11:36 PM Wulffluw XCIV ~ Take a Ride ~ Toxica EP ~ Hakuna Kulala ~ 2023
11:39 PM Special Request ~ Sliver (feat. Novelist) ~ single ~ Gudu Records ~ 2023
11:44 PM LSDXOXO ~ Cream ~ Delusions of Grandeur (D.O.G.) EP ~ F.A.G. ~ 2023
11:46 PM Normal Nada the Krakmaxter ~ Batida Hard Trance 2 ~ Tribal Progressive Heavy Metal ~ Nyege Nyege Tapes ~ 2023
11:48 PM Evian Christ ~ Nobody Else ~ Revanchist ~ Warp Records ~ 2023
11:55 PM Darren Price ~ Airspace ~ Under the Flightpath ~ NovaMute ~ 1997

Crush Collision 11/2/23

November 3, 2023 at 12:24 am | Posted in Crush Collision | Leave a comment

10:00 PM Actress ~ Push Power ( a 1 ) ~ LXXXVIII ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
10:01 PM Moiré ~ Solar Signs ~ Ten Years of Phonica ~ Phonica Records ~ 2014
10:05 PM Placid Angles ~ Setting Suns ~ 056 (The Lotus) EP ~ AD 93 ~ 2022
10:11 PM Brijean ~ Angelo (Space Ghost Remix) ~ Angelo (Deluxe) ~ Ghostly International ~ 2023
10:16 PM Clio ~ Faces ~ single ~ Planet Records Classics ~ 1985
10:21 PM Soichi Terada ~ We Came Together ~ Sumo Jungle Grandeur ~ Far East Recording ~ 1996
10:25 PM Raw M.T. ~ One Last Shot ~ Richard’s Revenge EP ~ Lobster Theremin ~ 2016
10:30 PM Sofia Kourtesis ~ Funkhaus ~ Madres ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
10:35 PM Chapterhouse ~ Montpellier Freeway ~ Chronology ~ Cherry Red ~ ’90s
10:37 PM Chrisman ~ Mlinzi ~ Ku Mwezi EP ~ Hakuna Kulala ~ 2021
10:40 PM Floating Points ~ Birth4000 (Extended) ~ single ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
10:47 PM Barry Can’t Swim ~ Sonder ~ When Will We Land? ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
10:50 PM Cybotron ~ Maintain ~ Maintain The Golden Ratio ~ Tresor ~ 2023
10:54 PM Detroit’s Filthiest ~ Lying 2 Yourself ~ 100% Authenticity Guaranteed ~ Casa Voyager ~ 2023
10:59 PM Surusinghe ~ Brain ~ Brake Fluid EP ~ AD 93 ~ 2023
11:03 PM DJ FINALE ~ Tobandi ~ Mille Morceau ~ Nyege Nyege Tapes ~ 2023
11:05 PM E-Talking ~ Telephone Rose ~ Blue 04 ~ AD 93 ~ 2018
11:10 PM De Schuurman ~ Poeng Ka Poeng Ka ~ Bubbling Inside ~ Nyege Nyege Tapes ~ 2021
11:12 PM DJ K ~ Automotivo Acordou a Favela Toda (feat. MC Menor ADR & MC RN) ~ Panico No Submundo ~ Nyege Nyege Tapes ~ 2023
11:15 PM Toumba ~ Rashash ~ Janoob ~ Nervous Horizon ~ 2023
11:19 PM Keita Sano ~ ThrPho ~ You Can’t Save Me ~ Rhythmic Culture ~ 2023
11:23 PM DJ Bone ~ The Standard ~ FURTHER ~ Subject Detroit ~ 2023
11:27 PM Elkka ~ Babe ~ DJ Friendly ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
11:31 PM I. JORDAN & Planningtorock ~ TNB (Night Version) ~ single ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
11:38 PM e-freq ~ The Spirit Molecule ~ Trip to the Other Side of Reality ~ Unknown to the Unknown ~ 2023
11:42 PM Mark Broom ~ Hardgroove 4 Life (Ben Sims Remix) ~ Hardgroove 4 Life EP ~ Beard Man ~ 2023
11:46 PM Richie Hawtin ~ Time Warps ~ Time Warps ~ From Our Minds ~ 2020

Off World: 3 (Constellation, 2023)

October 29, 2023 at 1:52 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Off World: 3

The final album of a trilogy from Sandro Perri’s experimental side project is another captivating set that eludes easy categorization, fluidly combining acoustic and electronic sounds into post-minimalist rhythmic and tonal explorations. After the wondrous string-based intro piece “Orientation”, “Impulse Controller” is a lengthy expedition through a textural rainforest, with cool, mellotron-like synths and a snaking rhythm with a sort of treated bounce to it, along with sporadic trumpet cries. “Terrascope” is a minute-long noise interlude featuring a Buchla Music Easel. “Ludic Loop” is a gorgeous slow processional with a wafting Juno synth line and guitar that cries out to the sun. Easily the album’s standout for me, just something lovely to bask in. “Empasse” has a similar back-and-forth movement, with Perri playing a Prophet 5, but he’s joined again by violinist Jesse Zubot, and while it doesn’t exactly feel harsh, it feels less comforting than the previous piece.

Show #690 – 10/29/23

October 29, 2023 at 2:33 am | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

last show for a while, seeing Nia Archives in Detroit next weekend then taking a looooooong vacation!
12:00 AM White Poppy ~ Apathy ~ Sound of Blue ~ Not Not Fun ~ 2023
12:03 AM Mint Field ~ Respiro Profundo ~ Aprender a Ser ~ felte ~ 2023
12:07 AM Tirzah ~ 2 D I C U V ~ trip9love…??? ~ Domino Recording Co ~ 2023
12:11 AM Johan Agebjörn ~ Ambient Computer Dance (Subtracted Version) ~ Subtracted Soundscapes ~ Spotted Peccary ~ 2023
12:16 AM Cornelius ~ Too Pure ~ Dream in Dream ~ Like Ltd/Warner Music Japan 2023
12:19 AM DJ Shadow – All My ~ Action Adventure ~ Mass Appeal ~ 2023
12:22 AM Sofia Kourtesis ~ How Music Makes You Feel Better ~ Madres ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
12:27 AM B. Cool-Aid ~ If u can See Me ( 4U ) [feat. Liv.e] ~ Leather Blvd. ~ Lex Records ~ 2023
12:28 AM Detroit’s Filthiest ~ Graveyard Shift ~ 100% Authenticity Guaranteed ~ Casa Voyager ~ 2023
12:34 AM Soichi Terada ~ Mt. Ambient vs. Spasm ~ Sumo Jungle Grandeur ~ Far East Recording ~ 1996
12:40 AM The Postal Service ~ Natural Anthem (Live) ~ Everything Will Change ~ Sub Pop Records ~ 2020
12:46 AM King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard ~ Chang’e (Extended Mix) ~ The Silver Cord ~ KGLW ~ 2023
12:57 AM Martin Babl ~ In dieser Wirklichkeit sind wir Freunde ~ In dieser Wirklichkeit sind wir Freunde ~ self-released ~ 2023
1:02 AM Kate Gentile ~ Laugh Magic ~ Find Letter X ~ Pi ~ 2023
1:09 AM Tiger Village ~ The Negotiation ~ The Celebration ~ Hausu Mountain ~ 2023
1:13 AM Quicksails ~ Chat Laugh ~ Surface ~ Hausu Mountain ~ 2023
1:16 AM Jane Remover ~ Backseat Girl ~ Census Designated ~ deadAir ~ 2023
1:22 AM bagel fanclub ~ Massive Satanic Rail ~ single ~ bagel fanclub ~ 2023
1:28 AM Shoebill ~ Get Your Shit Together ~ single ~ Kitty on Fire Records ~ 2023
1:32 AM Lil Kevo 303 ~ Volcano Bath 214iv ~ When Can I Die ~ Death By Sheep ~ 2023
1:36 AM Siavash Amini ~ Wayward ~ eremos ~ American Dreams ~ 2023
1:44 AM The Particles ~ Truth About You ~ 1980s Bubblegum ~ Chapter Music ~ 1980s
1:47 AM Moin ~ No Neck ~ Clocked Off EP ~ AD 93 ~ 2023
1:50 AM Off World ~ Ludic Loop ~ 3 ~ Constellation ~ 2023

Show #689 – 10/22/23

October 22, 2023 at 2:28 am | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

12:00 AM Kate Gentile ~ r.a.t.b.o.t.B ~ Find Letter X ~ Pi ~ 2023
12:05 AM Pachyman ~ Switched-On ~ Switched-On ~ ATO Records ~ 2023
12:08 AM Forest Swords ~ The Low ~ Bolted ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
12:12 AM MIKE ~ What U Say U Are ~ Burning Desire ~ 10k ~ 2023
12:16 AM Saint Abdullah & Eomac ~ Frequently Fugitive ~ Chasing Stateless ~ Planet Mu ~ 2023
12:19 AM Black to Comm ~ Schleim Des Nichtwissens ~ At Zeenath Parallel Heavens ~ Thrill Jockey ~ 2023
12:24 AM Slauson Malone 1 ~ New Joy ~ EXCELSIOR ~ Warp Records ~ 2023
12:28 AM Tiger Village ~ Holding Daisy ~ The Celebration ~ Hausu Mountain ~ 2023
12:31 AM Quicksails ~ Salt ~ Surface ~ Hausu Mountain ~ 2023
12:36 AM Paavoharju ~ Rasia ~ Yön mustia kukkia ~ Fonal ~ 2023
12:40 AM White Poppy ~ One More Night ~ Sound of Blue ~ Not Not Fun ~ 2023
12:45 AM Kiefer ~ Dreamer ~ It’s Ok, B U ~ Stones Throw Records ~ 2023
12:50 AM Joe McPhee & Tomeka Reid ~ Juneteenth (Part 1) ~ Let Our Rejoicing Rise ~ Corbett vs. Dempsey ~ 2022
1:00 AM Tatsuya Nakamura ~ Wow ~ Locus (2023 Remastered Version) ~ BBE Music ~ 1984
1:08 AM Grupo Um ~ Suite Orquidea Negra ~ Starting Point ~ Far Out Recordings ~ 1975
1:13 AM Jamila Woods ~ Still ~ Water Made Us ~ Jagjaguwar ~ 2023
1:16 AM Ossie All Stars ~ Better Choice ~ Mr. Isaacs (Deluxe Edition) ~ VP Records ~ 1978
1:20 AM The Go-Betweens ~ The Ghost and the Black Hat ~ Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express ~ Beggars Banquet ~ 1986
1:24 AM Yann Tiersen ~ Kerlann (Laurel Halo Remix) ~ Kerber (Remixes) ~ Mute ~ 2023
1:30 AM Bebel Gilberto ~ Eclipse ~ João ~ [PIAS] ~ 2023
1:32 AM Off World ~ Terrascope ~ 3 ~ Constellation ~ 2023
1:33 AM SPARKLE DIVISION ~ Oh Yeah! ~ Foxy ~ Temporary Residence Ltd. ~ 2023
1:37 AM Pangaea ~ Bad Lines ~ Changing Channels ~ Hessle Audio ~ 2023
1:40 AM leroy ~ Bouncin off dA window ★★★ ~ Grave Robbing ~ self-released ~ 2023
1:45 AM Hitori Tori ~ Dum ~ Alkaline Pets ~ Kitty On Fire ~ 2023
1:49 AM Barry Can’t Swim ~ Tell Me What You Need (feat. just lil) ~ When Will We Land? ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2023
1:52 AM Lone ~ Waterfall Reverse ~ single ~ Greco-Roman ~ 2023

Kate Gentile: Find Letter X (Pi Recordings, 2023)

October 21, 2023 at 5:48 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Kate Gentile: Find Letter X

Drummer and composer Kate Gentile’s newest opus contains three CDs, each over an hour long, and each is a dense, complex world of its own interconnected with the wider universe of the other discs. The other players are saxophonist/clarinettist Jeremy Viner, synth and keyboard player Matt Mitchell, and bassist Kim Cass. The electronic parts get a lot of short, sizzling, piercing interludes to themselves, like the very first track of the first disc. “Laugh Magic” is dense mathcore jazz that constantly switches time signatures, and already at this point in the album, all bets are off, there’s no telling what’s in store. The band navigate through corkscrew rhythms and more straightforward parts, sometimes overlapping or criss-crossing, and to me it all sounds perfectly composed and arranged and executed, not random or intentionally difficult. It’s hard to even pick out standout moments, because it really does feel like the whole album is meant to be taken as a singular journey. The press release says the album was inspired by the third season of Twin Peaks, and how it has an extremely complex story line and abstract logic of its own, and even though there isn’t a narrative connecting the pieces on this album, it’s similar in how it just completely subverts expectations and goes in its own directions and doesn’t wait for you to catch up with it. Some parts do deserve mention though, like the manic prog-metal-jazz of disc 2 opener “R.A.T.B.O.T.B”. Really the whole second disc keeps up that intensity, with tracks like “Garbage Juice” adding more synth chaos. “Importunate Babble” piles all the elements up into one of the album’s most intense, overwhelming compositions. Disc 3 opens with the 10-minute monster “Psychoradiant”, and cools down somewhat for a few moments, with a bit more emphasis on piano, but still with fast, rapidly evolving rhythms. “Spectrescope” seems to start with mellower tones and a more spacious approach but it gets worked up and knotty by the end. Then “Quantum Exits” is a 13 minute tour de force, but the much shorter “Epitome” which follows is a more concentrated burst of energy and color. Crazily enough, this isn’t even the most massive thing Gentile and Mitchell have created — they released a 6 CD set titled Snark Horse two years ago. After listening to Find Letter X a few times, I think I’m almost ready for that one.

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