Word: electronica
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...took a good 15 to 20 minutes to set up their dual-laptop act. During this time, Gagnon streamed reverb-enhanced “Simpsons” clips paired with a broken backbeat and whirring turntables. Upon starting the actual performance piece, Gagnon indulged in some very bizarre laptop electronica and trance that seemed centered around atonal passages matched with thumping bass and punchy drum loops. The dissonance of the act became more pronounced as time went on. It would have been cool if the RPL had decided to create a sort of general tonal dynamic with their stage time...
...intriguing show were they to appeal more to the standard human musical sensibility. Those alternative music acts that succeed are always those that manage to incorporate some element of conventional music into their compositions in a seamless yet evident manner: without an anchor, those of us not used to electronica can quickly become lost...
This album’s major fault stems from the absence of the crazed Keith Flint. What had made the Prodigy so unique was its ambiguous and unique identity as an electronica band with an identifiable voice and front man; it wasn’t just rave music, but something new with a cool beat that you could sing along to. Evidently, however, the real brains behind the Prodigy from the start was arranger/producer Liam Howlett and, in this latest effort, he takes the band back to its roots, unfortunately relegating it to the category of mediocre dance music...
...core of fans the band built during its earlier incarnation as country rockers has expanded to include indie-rock hipsters and the electronica avant-garde. A Ghost Is Born will probably do even better than its predecessor, though on first listen they have little in common. This time the songs are more loosely constructed, with Tweedy's delicate dirges giving way to roaring, rambling guitar solos. There are no hit singles here--"You can't hear it on the radio," Tweedy acknowledges on the final track, The Late Greats--but the album may still be the year's most addictive...
Evidently, people really care about being able to join this group. The community journal is cluttered with immaculately formulated lists of post-punk, avant-classical, metal, indie and electronica acts, most of which are so thoughtfully “insider” they’re insipid. These lists are invariably attacked for being myopic, scene-dependent and safe. My issue isn’t so much that the Fuck You Crew have the nerve to condemn the lists themselves. It’s that they do so without a truly critical eye on the bands, instead stacking the lists...