Machine Boy :: Lemons (Shotgun Charlie)

Eight tracks of deliciously individual electronic expression, Lemons confirms Machine Boy as an artist whose creative universe remains gloriously difficult to pin down—and all the better for it.

Cook’s particular brand of wonk remains unmistakably his own

 

Birmingham’s Dean Cook, aka Machine Boy, delivers his latest eight-track IDM neofunkian groove trip, Lemons. Delicious cuts of prime ribeyed wonkian alt-electro establish a universe entirely of his own making, with Cook operating as a Higher Power of the creativsphere. Space-doubt and spacious, this is music to which comparisons rarely stick. Because, really, it isn’t like anything else. There are shared coordinates with Steve “The Horn” Horne, ZOiD at Zoitrax, or Calgary’s Steb Sly in its entirely unique intentions, but Cook’s particular brand of wonk remains unmistakably his own.

Marking sixteen years of releases, these eight distinct low-fi, hi-rez groove alerts will delight those open of ear, willing to see outside the box and feel genuinely free. There are reminders of the late-’90s Clear Records catalog, through which we were gifted the likes of Plaid, The Jedi Knights, Mike Paradinas in his Jake Slazenger guise and the inimitable Clatterbox. Yet Lemons is no exercise in nostalgia, finding its own space between low-slung electro, digifunk breakbeat trickery and chill-out backroom vibes. Cook understands that a groove needn’t sacrifice eccentricity, nor does adventurous sound design require abandoning the pleasures of a well-placed beat. “Shock,” “Pop,” and “Fuzzee” deliver the wonkian groove in spades, sitting neatly alongside the musicality of “Treat” and “Filed.” Meanwhile, “Fire Fight” opens another door entirely, its ambient-esque soundtrack stretching the album’s spacious sensibilities into more cinematic territory.

Eight tracks of deliciously individual electronic expression, Lemons confirms Machine Boy as an artist whose creative universe remains gloriously difficult to pin down—and all the better for it.

Lemons is available on Bandcamp.