When Otto Von Schirach releases an album, it seems to me the tracks are put together without much cohesion and, paradoxically, I find much more cohesion in his compiled works, like Chopped Zombie Fungus and this Petroleum Peep Show. I know it’s a bit silly talking about cohesion when everyone knows that OVS is the master of DSP confusion, but I really like the flow of this CD while I found Gloabl Speaker Fisting (Schematic, 2004) a bit boring.
This is a compilation of three diferent EP’s released on Beta Bodega and Rice and Beans: it features the most booty-shaking and political sides of OVS. Distorted anti-globalization hip-hop lyrics are mixed with a drunk version of the US hymn, fractured politicians speeches, followed by a nice summary of the relationships between USA, UK and Iraq over the past 80 years, printed on the inside cover –just to remind everyone of what’s going on. On the musical side, it’s funny from the beginning to the end, there’s loads of mutant jungle and drum’n’bass beats, heavily processed, cut up and assembled, like in “Pirahna Panties,” “Brain Freeze,” “Doctored Nuclear” and finally “Homeland Security,” nearly touching breakcore territories. There’s also the bass-heavy hip-hop tune, “Your Wars, I Ain’t Buying Them,” with OVS’s menacing vocal skills, plus a remix version courtesy of Dr. Shanker and Emilio Bernhard, which is a nice instrumental track much in the style of Four Tet. The weirdest track of all is the mental “Inspect Her Gadget” that uses the cartoon theme to build a booty bass piece. Go go Gadget Bass! The most dance-floor friendly OVS effort to date, not as crazy as his latest heavy-chopped-metal trend, but it’s really fresh and insane nontheless.
Petroleum Peep Show is out now on Rice and Beans.
