Broadband reactions

The disk arrived this past weekend, although I didn’t want to rush through this. Great packaging, Fred! And, as ever, it’s an education to see the wildly different styles and personalities emerge when the common denominator is a loose theme and a piece of kit.

(1) Broadband G-URL – Very anthemic, overall. Did you intend this as an opener all along? I really like the bouncy (square wave?) sequence that keeps it percolating along, and the higher-pitched sequence that scurries around the stereo field. Plus I’m always a sucker for chiming guitars. The simple melody line emerging toward the end is just infectious enough to want to turn into an earworm (a term I wouldn’t be surprised to learn you may already be thinking about as a future Sun Songs title, although given my sensibilities, I'm really hoping you go back to Armageddon ... or was it Apocalypse? ... and give that another whirl).

(2) Eh-Oh – This couldn’t be much more minimalistic, but then, if it had more elements, instead of squeezing every drop out of a relative few, it probably wouldn’t be as weirdly hypnotic. I kept wanting to feed this a settling dose of Dramamine. The highest compliment I can pay: Here in Boulder, we have a stellar community radio station, KGNU. You never know what you might hear. And this sounds like some experimental thing you might hear them play around 1 or 2 in the morning, first reacting with a hearty “WTF?” … followed by, “I could listen to this for a long time.”

(3) Don’t Make Me – That huge-sounding lead-in makes for a great contrast with the micro-focus of “Eh-Oh.” Nice aggressive feeling coming out of the intro. You have a good voice that carries the song well, without the fierce compression or distortion (not that I would’ve minded either) that one might’ve expected. Although the more whispery overdubs work really well. I wouldn’t call them subliminal, exactly, but I can’t say I consciously noticed them until you mentioned them in your post.

(4) Kill Process – Love the layers of synth work here. To me, it sounds like what might result if Hocico channeled Franke-era Tangerine Dream … which, in my book, is a very very good thing. Very hypnotic rises and falls in tension; you do a great job of using the filters to imbue the track with a palpable sense of drama. Especially the way things kick in to a final buildup around 6:00.

(5) Want 2 Be – This is soooooo smooth. If I were Mike Myers, I’d be making all kinds of comparisons to butter. I love the laid-back vibe, and that pair of beautifully muted synth chords (one hit each, with one quick echo?) that cycle throughout. Lovely flow throughout, and topnotch production. A superb headphone track, although it’s a bit hard to hear over my teeth grinding in envy.

(6) Aesophygus – The complexity and “tickyness” of the beats is fascinating. It never sounds sloppy, but constantly seems to thwart getting a handle on it. A moment of evil cleverness around 3:20 when I thought my CD player was glitching. Dnarkosis mentions synapses, and I had a similar reaction while first listening … that, with the periods of spare angularity being overtaken by the thicker, more swirling passages, it felt like an aural representation of brain activity. You really need to score Imax documentaries.

(7) Wormhole Party Line – I’m always intrigued by dialogue collages, especially when the clips are in a language I don’t understand, or mutated beyond comprehension, … or even if they’re understandable, they’re still so far out of the original context that they may as well be foreign. Usually makes me feel like I’m hearing something I’m not supposed to, then having my nose rubbed in the fact that the message itself is denied me. Highly effective, shifting soundscape woven underneath, around, and through it (especially those glassy twinkling chords), which seems very expansive but never interferes.

(8) Twisted Pair – Like the ethnic flavor of the opening. The playful back-and-forth and the co-opting of ‘net terminology for a romantic argument is very witty. The touch-tones are an inspired choice of rhythmic break … although I kept expected it to be followed by squalling modem noise!

(9) Turtle Soap – This is just short and punchy enough to feel like a remix for a film trailer or something similar. In that beginning wind-up, I swear there’s a moment when the voice sounds just like the newly departed Chef on SOUTH PARK. The synth squiggles demand closer listening. Maybe a bit more compression on the voice? There are a few moments it seems a bit too low.

Again, honored to share space with you, one and all!