Visceral Vendor by Ascoltare (Tripel001)

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new stuff from post rocker gwei lo main man dave henson. gorgeous cover art, weird titles, minimum of detail provided. yup, it is indeed headf*ck electronica, as indicated by the vocal sample of john peel that opens the album. headacres does exactly as it says, distorted beats and deep bassbooms, drifting into exquisite ambience recalling the glory moments of calm that aphex twin has teased us with over the years. spondulix has a very nice simple melody line that builds, adding extra layers of static and noises but is strangely serene .. a highlight ..

the album flows on .. parts are melodic and accessible others are just strange environmetal ambience, with little structure and harmony, but just when you find yourself drifting off then dave injects a welcome blast of a tune that whiplashes the listener back on board making the hour far more fun than is should be. fitting into the same league as mira calix album of last year, though that album left me cold and uninvolved i have found that visceral vendor never becomes completely detatched from the listener. in fact there are sections that recall the melody intensive orbital classics (calico jane) and sheer smile inducers like 'ice cream sing' with its cheesy motif and vocal loop prove that dave is not totally serious in this over intense genre, though 1 minute it is quite enough ! followed by another 20 minutes enviromental soundscapes and even a philip glass type piano melodies in solemn jets

so for a real varying album of splintered sounds, bassbooms, whitenoise manipulations and serene melodies go find this from a vendor of value. whatever the mood.

headf*ck electronica par excellence.