Perceiver CD

The EP prior to Peter Van Hoesen's Perceiver was called Transitional State, and the title sums up the approach on this album and the general direction that he has been heading in for the past few years. Listen to even his recent dance floor-based releases on Komisch, Ostgut and Time To Express and you'll hear glitchy slivers of percussion amid the punishing, merciless basslines. Van Hoesen has emphasised this abstract side to his sound on Perceiver. "Objects from the Past" and "To Alter A Vector" unfold in slow motion, with textured sounds floating over lurching rhythms, breaking occasionally to allow the dubby beats come to the fore. In between balancing the functional and the abstract, the album also presents a third way, and it results in the most impressive track on the album; "Nefertiti Always Beyond" boasts nickel-plated drums and Peter's trademark sub-bass, but there is something looser about the arrangement. What it may lack in precision it compensates with a sense of punky energy, its rhythm spasming like a Magazine song trapped in the body of a relentless techno arrangement. It's the centre piece in a perception altering album.

Brian James, Kr!z (Token Records), Adam X Sonic Groove, Juno Recommends CD Albums, Juno Recommends Experimental, 3.14, SUBMERGE, Kondaktor