Genaside II
Ad Finite
Durban Poison
And the Big Beat Theory moves on, as evinced by Genaside II’s Ad Finite . It seems rather appropriate that the lyric book’s middle spread proclaims “There will always be a dark side”: Genaside II’s brand of break-beat construction/destruction is a decidedly darker, more broodingly pounding brand than fellow Brits Lo-Fidelity Allstars and Fatboy Slim. But Ad Finite is that much better for it, allowing the seven-piece group enough room to lay down bass-heavy grooves, clean and jazzy breaks, and elegantly somber synth and piano melodies. At their most primitive, Genaside II comes strikingly close to late-80s Wax Trax territory, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. At its finest, the album is both dancefloor- and bedroom-accessible; at its worst, merely beats-and-bass for its own sake.
