The 100th Window

[adrienmundi]

I picked this up two days after it came out (it would have been the day of release, but I was uninformed at the time). My initial response was, "Wow, this isn's as good as Mezzanine", but I was listening in my car with two other passengers, so I couldn't really give it my full attention, or play it as loudly as it seemed to require. Last night, alone in the house, I had the chance to abuse my cats' ears and really focus on it; I like it.

Most notably, it doesn't have the immediate, instinctual hooks of Mezzanine (one of the best single cds I own, I think). The beats are very definitely there, but less insistent, and almost below the range of (my) hearing; I ended up knowing it was present physically almost more than aurally. There are clearer, higher musical tones scattered throughout, layered over the subsonic bass; think of moving slightly into the old school ambient territory, but retaining that sense of rhythmn and languid, sexual delivery. I hesitate to call it "cerebral", because it's not brainy, abstract, and cool, but it's more... balanced? than prior albums. After sitting with it (OK, laying in front of my stereo) for some time, I definitely like it, a lot. I don't know that unremixed tracks will be big dance hits, but I would strongly recommend it to most I know.

Comments

[ultran.livejournal.com]

I listened to it three times yesterday. It's definitely a good one

[thegoodwill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the review. I had no idea there was a new release out... I'm so far away from music these days. But I loved Mezzanine, so I'll tune in to this one.