2007

This is the second full-length release by DJ and producer False (aka Matthew Dear, Audion). Essentially a special one-off live set, 2007 defines Dear's relationship with M_nus. Together with the accompanying vinyl release of Fed on Youth/Face the Rain, he's concocted a work of such stunning intricacy, verve and substance that it will surely be amongst the favorites when this year's highlights are assessed. The opening sequence unfurls gradually, but even as the ominous "Indy 3000" drifts into the metronomic comfort of "Meat Me in the Market," you can already feel the gravitational pull sucking you in. The electro shock therapy of "Warm Co." and the pensive minimalism of "Timing" and "Alright Liar" continue turning the screw - and before you know it, you're lost in a void of slow, chugging sub-beats, filtered vox fx and dense, disorienting reverb. Distant melodies somehow make it through, like the soft, meditative tones on "Plus Plus" and the melancholy motif of "Face the Rain," which leaves you temporarily frozen and suspended before the energetic "Dollar Down" ushers in the pivotal, subsonic avalanche of "Disease/George Washington." the album starts to gather momentum on the home stretch, as the tension and suspense of "Act Like Children/Excalibur" rolls into "In the Heather," which in turn, breaks under the weight of "Fed on Youth" as Dear finally unleashes a sequence of laser-guided synth stabs that recall the hi-octane drive-by of the intro. "Stomachs/Ankle Biter" extends the climactic conclusion amid a wash of analog white noise before "Forgetting" finally releases the pressure valve, slowly drifting back to the initial point of origin. What is so memorable about this collection of tracks is the way it strikes the perfect balance between abstract experimentation and full-on techno nirvana without ever breaking stride or losing focus. There's nothing brash or over-blown here, all the real action is nestled between the beats - enticing yet unreachable - while the grooves he concocts are all so earthy and raw that the kick drum functions as an alternative rather than a necessity.