symmDROME :: enumerator (Point Source Electronic Arts)

Building upon vast mechanical soundscapes, enumerator projects itself as a massive structure composed of eight elements that bend and deform.

Teetering again on the outer edges of experimental electronics

We delved into re•cur•sion (also available on the burgeoning Point Source Electronic Arts) back in January, described as “ravaged rhythms and vocal distortions unfold and teeter on jagged edges and yet there’s a mysterious draw that can’t be ignored.” Fast forward to June, and symmDROME manages another release teetering again on the outer edges of experimental electronics, not surprisingly.

Building upon vast mechanical soundscapes, enumerator projects itself as a massive structure composed of eight elements that bend and deform with sporadic ghostly voices—reference “Northern Lights.” Roaming through a variety of genres including glitchy techno behemoths (“Albatross” and “Gleebnglobbn”) to broken beats and shifting bass rhythms featured on “Tunnel,” symmDROME revels in blistered and distorted sound design—quite a highlight. And yet, as enumerator lurks in the background, tracks like the technoid fissures of “Octa Gone” come to life with a darker industrial slant. Finally, and hopefully not a real goodbye, the closing track titled “Goodbye” sees the artist delving into thickened drones and tones where synthesizers hum at full power—an emotional closure leaving us itching for more.

In all, enumerator is a powerful album packed with a cross-section through the whole electronic scene with a definitive snarling signature that could only come from a true sonic craftsman.

enumerator is available on Point Source Electronic Arts. [Bandcamp]