(10.31.05) When Scatterheart came out it gathered a lot of attention, but my reaction was a bit tepid. I recognized Hecq’s talent, but I was actually waiting for something more mature, more accomplished, that could do justice to the guy’s skills. Finally that record is out, and it’s Bad Karma. This is not a step further, but an entire stairway up from his previous album; it’s more intense, imaginative, captivating and the yet excellent production here is quite close to perfection.
The tracks are longer and more focused, the deep bass tones of “Untitled 1” and “The Fiend” won’t let you lose your attention. Each episode has its own distinctive features, either it’s the pitch black setting of “Flying Fear” or the minimal clicky beat of ‘”Into The Unseen,” surrounded by spooky dub bass. There’s loads of other interesting stuff; scattered frantic beats overlap with chopped amen breaks in “Lightning Slots,” the tribal percussions of the second “Untitled” are so mesmerizing that they could lead you to set up some voodoo rite –not to mention the awesome battle between industrial drums and tap dance of “Scumdrum.” As you can see, Bad Karma is full of wicked ideas, transposed to music with a sublime touch. And with Hecq meets Architect, it’s no surprise to hear an amazing mutant electro tune; both have just released fantastic records, thumbs up for Hymen.
Bad Karma is out now on Hymen.
- ((( Buy it at Amazon.com )))
- Hymen
- Hecq
- Scatterheart (Review: Dec. 2004)
- A Dried Youth (Review: Feb. 2004)
