Rating: NNN
I’m a Ninja Tune head, OK? It runs in my family. Xen Cuts, Vadim, Herbalizer, Blockhead, Coldcut and Food – we do all that. But too much of this instrumental record – the Montreal producer’s foray into live/ sampled instrumentation – makes me feel sad and hollow. The keyboards are ultra-bleak, the percussion is clangy and industrial, and the overall production is accented with heartless electronic reverb effects. It’s the soundtrack to our grim futures on this horrible, decaying earth. Occasionally, some cool beat overtakes the tone with something more chilled-back than suicide-inspiring. If this sounds like your thing, more power to you. But it just makes me feel anxious.