Jamie Lidell
Muddlin Gear
Warp/Spy Mania
The electronic disorder on this debut full length will be enjoyed by the avant crowd in your town, art kids who have inhaled too much paint thinner, and sadly, the impressionable post-hardcore kid who thinks anything not hardcore is good.
Muddlin Gear is a concept record without a concept, a one trick pony that should have been made into glue. The audio quality is grating, meandering in and out of low and high fidelities. The closest thing to resemble these “beats” is the sound of a subway. No, not that nice swooshy sound that reminds you that you are in London or New York, but that crammed car during Tuesday’s evening rush hour. There is no space to breathe on these tracks, just crammed noises without relationship each another.
I fully embrace modern art and its juxtaposition aesthetics. Anyone who has seen my artwork or record collection knows I prefer controlled mess. But even I have to draw the line somewhere: this is one of the worst audio experiences ever experienced.
An epileptic start and stop filter approach, delayed television samples, the list of the lame goes on and on. All I want now is a strobe light and some cyanide. How a respected label could release such drek is beyond me, but a boycott is in order.
