(10.27.06) Kid606 returns with yet another installment on his Tigerbeat6 imprint. For some years Kid606 was the toast of the electronica scene, with releases such as Down With The Scene receiving high acclaim. He maintained an experimental side, putting on EP’s on numerous labels like V/Vm, 555 and Vinyl Communications. Yet, once Tigerbeat6 was born, the Kid moved away from the melodic and melancholic realms of electronica, concentrating more on his aggressive hardcore roots. As the label grew, so did its catalogue of angry artists. People such as Knifehandchop and Shitmat shared the fast beats propounded by the kid on his early aggro releases such as Don’t Sweat The Technics. As the hardcore and gabba movement matured and mutated, splitting into genres such as dubstep and breakcore, Kid606 and his entourage pioneered the way with high speed beats and nosebleed basslines. Over the past few years, this hostile machismo sound has gathered quite a following with breakcore nights popping up in cities across the globe. Yet does this new album by one of the fathers of the sound hold up, or has the kid digressed from the industrial noise path?
Kid606, a.k.a. Miguel Depedro, has released a prolific volume over the past few years. Since 1998, Kid606 has put out more than fifty releases/appearances under various monikers. It has always been a bit of a worrisome issue that Kid606 can release so much in such a short period of time; the main fear being that quality will go down as quantity goes up. Yet this album, Pretty Girls Make Raves, does have a different feel from some of Depedro’s other breakcore releases. Depedro has kept the high beat energy, a signature of his sound, but has dropped the dizzying number of samples that of recent years he has employed.
The album opens with the beat driven “Let It Rock,” the track with the highest bpm on the LP. The Kid never lets the energy sag in this aggressive, synthline powered dancefloor behemoth. Disruptive scraps rudely interrupt the track, reminding the listener of the kid’s full-on techno days without breaking into total hardcore. It’s a track that sets up the entire album. “Chickenfight” is next on the 606 menu. The track is a little slower to develop than its predecessor, but maintains the same dancefloor energy. The kid builds this track in an old school big beat way, keeping the tension high as haughty synth chords saunter and strut as they tweak across the track. The track never really breaks, meaning that its energy is concentrated and contained to create a beat em up techno work. Raising the bpm for his next work, “Boomin'” contains deep beats that trudge as soon as the track begins; razor like keys and sharp snares cut and puncture through the looming bulwark of bass. The track, like the album, is dancefloor focused and a real body mover. Fuzzed out punk vocals add an interesting
element to this otherwise techno centered piece. Th inaudible angry punk lyrics continue into “Meet Me At The Bottom,” as does the dancefloor aggression. Jostling keys menace this number, a track that sounds like a sonic interpretation of a fist fight. “Comeuppunce” keeps the bpm teetering, but has a more glitchy and reflective feel as it mirrors Depedro’s cut and mash’em up hip hop assault days.
Kid606 never lets his foot off the gas on this album, keeping the listener’s eardrums on tenterhooks throughout. “T.Y.T.R.” maintains the
attack, the track sounds like a futurist death race with its ultra high energy tempo blended with raging youth lyrics. “Get Down Low” is much more of a mish mash track, as samples are smashed together with other computer distortions to create a hazy, interference dancefloor number. “Oakland Highslding” finishes the album and is the only track on which Depedro lowers the bpm. Yet this track sounds out of pitch, perhaps Kid606 did this intentionally to help ease the listener out of the speed rush techno of his music.
Pretty Girls Make Raves is yet another Kid606 album. Depedro has done nothing especially new on this release, perhaps from lowering his usual high volume of samples. Pretty Girls Make Raves has its merits, and if you enjoy breakcore, hardcore, or speed techno, you’ll love this. The album marks another step by Depedro into his den of fast beats techno, a place he has been for sometime now.
Pretty Girls Make Raves is out now on Tigerbeat6. Buy it at Amazon.com
