The Gridlock track on this nice release seems to actually have three parts to
it, just as the title does. I don't know if there is any connection, but my
impression of the three parts is that the first part is a "classic" Gridlock
type of sound with beats and drones, which melts away to make room for multiple
doses of electro/EBM complexity as on the Enzyme single, then ends with ultra-
brutal beats reminiscent of the harder stuff on Further.
The track begins with an odd rhythm that starts with a hard beat but then
muffles itself away only to come back in hard at the beginning of the next
sequence. The beats are warped to such a degree that at certain points they
sound more like a scratching on metal or carboard. As is to be expected,
calming synths enter the song to relax the listener through the foreboding
beats, with odd cracks, pops, and fizzes populating the song. After about
two minutes of this section of the song, which I like to think of as being a
good example of recent Gridlock material like Further and 5.25, the beats
melt away and are replaced by some very nicely done sounds which remind me of
water hitting or rolling along metal, along with a foreshadowing beep.
It is at this point that I feel the song really takes off, with a funky d&b
influenced rhythm rising up as though uncovering itself and meeting an odd
twang at the height of its clarity and volume, where it remains for a while to
give the song the energy to go on. Over this rhythm a plethora of tiny sounds
and stereo effects are added, with each rhythm able to carry the song on its
own. This part of the song has a nice EBM vibe to it, with multiple rhythms
carrying on at once. Then a vocal sample ushers in the beginning of an attack
of hard drums, adding another layer of sound to this already complex structure.
The beep that follows signifies the end of the song, in much the same way that
it marked an earlier transition point. It takes a while to discover all of the
separate sounds and rhythms in this song, but it is well worth it. It has an
epic feel to it while still only being about five minutes long.
Next is the first offering from Mike Wells' O2 project, which is a very beautiful
and relaxing song with slow yet bouncy bass drums and synths that seem to roll
downhill into a valley with enough force to push themselves up over the next
hill and start again. This structure of this song reminds me of some of the
better acid house stuff out there, with the sounds changing slightly with each
repetition so that the metamorphosis from beginning to end is hard to recognize
while it is happening. But with each repetition of the rhythm comes some sort
of new sound or tweak, much like Autechre or Aphex Twin. Like the first track,
the complexity is only fully realized after repeated listens, when one begins
to look forward to a favorite tweak or effect that gives that part of the song
its character.
Review by Nicholas Joseph Ferro 8/30/00