Blockout

In a word: Crikey. Nine brand new tunes from this twisted Russian duo, not only does it satisfy that itch for quality inventive nighttime music, but there’s enough oldshool here to keep even the most jaded raver interested. Agata Spider sounds a lot slower than its 140bpm, achieved by a lazy groove with an intensifying, holdin-back-on-ya atmosphere that’s incredibly effective. It builds and builds and builds, so that by the end the industrial drills n’ hammers have been brought out of their packaging and we’re nicely set up for what’s coming next. Skyline has some great effects in it that keep it moving nicely. The bottomend is crunchy and rolling, but hasn’t lost its funk and doesn’t pound at your skull like a five-day compound hangover. Little melodies keep it nicely afloat, the breakdown’s both comedic and effective, and by the time it skates on out to its perfectly-balanced final run, you’re in seventh heaven. Power Acoustic is – dare I say it – killa, it just has all those ingredients in place to that right from the off you can tell it’s going to be a – dare I say it again – killa. Caustic screeches balance against full, tight bottomends and once it gets going it’s nothing short of gobsmacking. Act Of Murder twists things up a notch, the bass is pounding, the stabs are scratchy-frightening, and the reverb-drenched “do you believe in god?” sample sets it off nicely. Moosya In Space is, in short, exactly what I’m personally looking forward in a track. Hard and inventive, it creates this amazing, shifting set of sounds about two minutes in – and it then sweeps and swoops with shades of Suomi. Like good sex on the top of a mountain. Apkane is a defiantly treacley oldskool number, with melodies moving around and around in a way that’s pretty uncommon these days. 3D Psycho is a glitched-out electroclash bit of nightmare music, like being chased by a manga-fused Swamp Thing through the shopping centre your mum used to drag you through as a kid. Wizard Inside has a beefy, substantial backbone and spends most of its time twisting around on itself, save for a couple of moments where an incongruously happy melody comes in and tips the balance; and finally Acid Dance brings the album to a close in a more standard nighttime style. It’s effective and it holds the tension, but aside from one little midsection, it lacks the invention and plain-n-simple psychedelic magic that we’ve seen earlier. All in all some bloody good moments in a rounded artist album; and one that I hope gets listened to by more than just the normal nighttime crowd – this is simply good, psychedelic music.