PRICE:
$17.00
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Autumn
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
MINUS 076CD MINUS 076CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
5/12/2009

This is the long-awaited second full-length release by L.A./Berlin duo, Louderbach (aka producer Troy Pierce & vocalist Gibby Miller). Autumn represents another jump in the evolutionary cycle of minimal techno, having developed from the largely instrumental project that gave us 2006's Enemy Love into a fully-fledged, song-based outfit. As a result, Autumn has a much deeper feel than its predecessor and breaks new ground, with the dark metaphors of Gibby Miller's often chilling vocal performances fitting hand-in-glove with the ominous landscapes and broken architecture that Troy Pierce constructs so effectively. Drawing on shared influences such as Bauhaus, Coil, and Joy Division, the duo have conceived an album of emotional depth and exquisite detail, appropriating the best elements of these early-'80s pioneers and reinterpreting them through a contemporary lens to achieve a perfect balance of style and content. Rolling in on waves of icy pads, the languid tones of "Autumn" pulse and swirl before Miller's voice rips through the shadows. The echo returns as "Seems Like Static" opens with a seductive, atmospheric chord progression. The mood is abruptly broken by a booming 808 kick and Miller's claustrophobic vocals slowly begin to unravel. The pummeling electro beats and heavy compression of "One Hundred Reasons" continue the decent that dominates the album's opening stages. Played out against a wall of feverish analog noise, the constant throb is gradually overwhelmed by a gnarly, twisting synth-line that's as seductive as it is lethal. "Notes" is glitchy insomnia, complete with ambient street sounds, "Nothing More Than A White Poison" is another dancefloor cut, and "She" has an elongated intro punctuated by booming 808s. "So This Is Control" is accompanied by a more laid-back, housey groove, culminating in a high-velocity breakdown. The sci-fi spirals of "Sunspots" produce a skeletal design of ebbs and flows with bass-heavy growls, reverberating bleeps and a frozen melody. "Shine" features another loose-fitting arrangement full of dark, low-end melodies, slivers of glistening hi-hats and heavily modulated analog layers. Autumn -- an album that grips the attention with smoldering intensity from start to finish.