Enemies & Allies – Dooflex

U-Recken vs Nitro’s Forever Noma is along the lines of a more morning-friendly 3D Vision sound. It’s fluid, melodic in just about the right places, and has enough substance to fit well with conventional fullon and add a nongeneric twist to yer average DJ set, and its final run has a little glimpse of one of those wondrous melodies that Silicon Sound used to deliver. Loud’s Beautiful Day opens up with a tasty breaksy intro, then sort of falls over itself into a brilliantly staggered pattern. Eerie pads, ragamuffin samples, all keep the tightness going until it disappears into this amazing sonic black hole… difficult to describe… it all envelopes back inside itself, with just a couple of clean-ass noises keeping the system functioning. Then, it’s off into this crazy mechanoid final run, but with the bpm’s kept low the effect is somehow sparse and dubby – it really shouldn’t be, but it is. Mahamundra’s Her Sister has been getting insane amounts of play chez psyreviews lately... on the one hand, there’s a screeching underbelly that really should sound incredibly menacing and disconcerting. But against that is a solid (and I mean solid) electro current flowing all the way through it, most notable when it drops into a breaks section in the middle. After which, it seems to borrow sounds from good old Electro Panic by Infected, slapping X-rated samples over the top. Slut funk. Profile’s Vintage Moves is an interesting one as well. You know how Infected spawned that new sound? And how Beat Hackers more or less copied it? Well, here’s someone doing something new, and something good, with it. Which makes for a goodun in my book. Nitro’s Analog Spin takes things a step darker – the drop at 2:40 is sheer class in a chai mug. The emphasis is still light, however – the production here once again baffles you, as sounds that should really be melding together to create mayhem somehow manages to also combine a good bit of grace. Zion’s Memory Break is thundering. End of. A fat midrange riff that’s straight out of a rave hoover, a wall of sound that’s straight out of Stay Up Forever, all melted together with tasty hooks, soundclash jazzy breakbeat fills, whirling melodies and more crunch than a bowlful of yer favourite psychedelic cereal. Mekkanikka has been a little quiet lately after the storm around his first album; Acid Fly samples, like his tune on Accellerator 2.0, Ali-G and the sound underneath is a sort of awkward. It seems to lack the flow of everything else here, lacks the subtlety, and doesn’t sit very easily on itself. Thank Christ, then for U-Recken’s Achilles, which is an utter wonderworld. Listening to it, you’re taken through a little journey just like with the old Tip compilations… in fact, it puts me in mind of the 3D compilation – but with bigger builds, more changes, and tighter production. Utterly brilliant, tight fullon with an intelligent flava. Finally, DNA do a sterling job with Round & Twist, the sort of thing that’s impossible to listen to and not get excited by. A solid groove, with a punchy lead and exquisite production, it’s certainly got everything in the right place, a great and easy-paced finale. I love this album: it’s got enough to appeal to fans of the whole fullon drive, it’s got enough substance to appeal to elitist fucktards like me, and it’s quirky enough to guarantee someone will come up to the DJ booth and ask either (a) what’s this playing now? Or (b) have you got any Nirvana.