(12.02.04) If a label like Hymen decides to release a newcomer, he’s supposed to be good, since the quality control has been consistent through the years. Hecq is definitely very good, his production skills are amazing if you consider he’s only 23. The balance between sinister beats and mellow melodies is perfect, like in “Flood Me” where you find a stomping beat opposed to classical strings, or in “Field” where only light tones bring some warmth to a frozen break. Other tracks are just pure sonic darkness, with heavy basses, dubby echoes and tiny micro-clicks that stress the beat.
The overall sensation is of floating over a landscape covered with snow, if only Scatterheart wasn’t interrupted by a couple of upbeat tunes. Between a great number of short tracks (there’s 23 in about an hour) you find two tunes, namely “Doraccle” and “Road North,” that could form an excellent 12″ on their own. The former is a broken beat piece with a groovy slap bass, something that resembles Architect’s most recent album (I Went Out Shopping To Get Some Noise, Hymen: 2004), while the latter is a straight, funky, electro tune –something that would work very well on the dance-floor. It’s not they’re bad tracks, in fact they’re some of the best, it’s only that they seem a bit out of place here; slightly interrupting the quiet flowing of the album. Obviously you can see it the other way –they also add some variety and rhythm, but I still think the track-list could have been arranged better.
Scatterheart is an impressive album that could be described as an introverted version of Lusine and is strongly recommended for fans of Lusine ICL releases, also on Hymen.
Scatterheart is out now on Hymen Records.
