Ed Rush & Optical :: Chameleon (Virus, CD)

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(05.14.07) OK, get ready for a little drum’n’bass comeback on these pages.

Last time I covered this kind of music it was Breakage excellent This Too Shall Pass, and before the return on the scene of the most renowned jungle producer (guess who I’m talkin’ about?) let me spend a few words on an album released some months ago that left me with mixed feelings. Some time ago I became all nostalgic for the Virus Vaults collection, and now Ed Rush and Optical have gone forward, putting together a record with surprisingly good tunes and some others that are a complete letdown. “Perfect Drug” is among those who work properly, the drug blabbering is a bit cheesy but sets the right syntethic vibe before all the growling bass synths kick in, it’s really a rocking tune while “Flight To Nashville” goes a bit further with metal influences, one of the worse habits of recent d’n’b: as often happens, distorted guitar over a 175 bpm beat sounds forced, the only producer who can allegedly mix these styles well is Technical Itch, who is even able to bring metal into dubstep. Not a bad effort, at least it’s better than the anonymous “Lust,” not to talk about the absolutely boring “Alien;” “Cyberskin” is a bit more entertaining but it’s only a grade above filler. “DNA” is instead a powerful track in the style of “Perfect Drug” with the catchy addition of The Prodigy’s “Firestarter” sample and the lyrics of Louis Smith, that are not that distant from Keith Flint distorted speech too. Louis Smith is the main character of the breakbeat piece “Animal,” that gives more the sensation of listening to an album instead of a compilation of dance tracks, but again here and in “Bloodmoney” there are too many rock guitars. The cream of the crop comes with “Life Under Water,” which brings back old memories, it’s almost entirely made from samples and citations of Ed Rush & Optical tracks of the past, a real spotter’s heaven, with that hypnotic darkness that was a trademark nearly a decade ago. “Test Tube” by Optical alone similarly will make the fans of twisted funk rejoice, it’s a rushing cavalcade of tech beats, floating keyboards and gnarly bass. “Concrete” features two MC’s, loads of party vibes, funky guitars and horns like it’s a Caribbean sunset, it’s not the creepy stuff I love but it has a good melody and it’s perfect served with a chilled mojito.

Chameleon is closed nicely by the warm funk “Twofold-Vibrations” who stands among the tunes that make this release worth buying, even considering the amount of skippable moments. Judging by the overall sounding of this record, the drums are cleaner, the beats are a bit too simple and standardized, it seems that these forefathers of the darkside have been influenced back by those, like Subfocus and Pendulum, who surely looked at Ed Rush and Optical as a source of inspiration.

Chameleon is out now on Virus. [Purchase]

Virus