(03.03.05) After two well-received EPs, Maduro returns with his first full-length release, Pixel Count. While Pixel Count does not have a polished surface, it’s the self-released rough edges of Dave Buracker’s 14 short excursions into wondrous electro that give it character and purpose.
On the album’s opener, “Apparition Filter,” the interplay of the optimistic melody with a brief mechanized rhythm resembles that moment when Laundromat muzak syncs with wet jeans tumbling metrically in the dryer. “Toil And Trouble,” “Her Secret Weapon” and “Pixelate Wildly” stand out in my mind as a stylized nod to the good old days of early industrial acts like Skinny Puppy and “An Android Interlude” along with “Penny Arcade” harkens back to the Legendary
Pink Dots’ early beginnings of their innocent psychedelic electro. “Watching Digital Clocks” makes me think Edgar the computer from Electric Dreams never stopped making music while “Imposter (Sleeps)” has me thinking the same about Buckner & Garcia (of Pac Man Fever fame.) Pixel Count ends with the sounds of chords blanketing insistent beats and loops abruptly halted by fading synths on “In a Flightpath,” which leads me to believe there will be more to look forward to with the next Maduro release.
Maduro has described his sound as “a blend of dark spacey electro, electronica and darkwave” – couldn’t have said it better myself. If this sounds appealing to you, look no further than Pixel Count.
Pixel Count is out now on Maduromusic.
- Maduromusic Website
