Two pillars of ’90s techno, Speedy J and Surgeon, team up as Multiples to give birth to, indeed, almost two hours of discomforting and rather challenging rhythms.
Some of the best and most unnerving timbres
If you thought this record was going to be the most exciting hardcore techno you’ve ever heard, then you might take a step back before listening, because even if traces of techno are found on this LP, there’s barely anything that will get you moving; instead of simply limiting themselves to tight jams, Multiples expand on the industrial sound they’ve always been familiar with by almost canceling out the idea of sustained grooves and leads. This makes it so that the album is still dominated by harsh and metallic percussion, but that it is utilized in true harsh and inharmonious fashion thanks to the lack of repetition, predictability, and hooks; the improvisational and erratic nature of these tunes also helps making this LP even more disjointed.
All of this amounts to atmosphere being the key component to the LP, as this isn’t some kind of insanely technical, alien experience in Autechre fashion, if anything, it seems to be purposefully holding back on overwhelming the listener to provide a more immersive experience. As such, the uncomfortable rhythms of this LP are never exhausting, but help in keeping the tracks steady and hypnotic instead, again to make this album’s unnerving feel its true point of strength.
The first batch of tracks is relatively solid, even though there’s not much that really sticks out. They establish said gloomy tone for the rest of the LP to follow, and do so with good enough variety to make the album kick off convincingly. Opener “Minimum Space” is the most effective among these tunes, as it does not hold back in any way; it’s very straightforward with its dissonance and immediately opens up with an almost unpleasant melody, which stays throughout most of the track so that even more unpleasant textures can join it. I especially like the acid tones in the bass, they’re used almost exclusively for their timbre, considering that they only appear in short and disconnected notes, making them a great addition to all the disconnected percussive elements the track is constantly layering.
A greater sense of progression ::
“Sounds Good to Me” and “Spirit” keep this tension tight, even if the first half of both tracks are rather unexciting. They require maybe a little too much time to really build to something more interesting, considering that their initial loops are enhanced by added textures that only feel like minor details or layers that don’t fit in any particularly refreshing way to give said loops a new feel. The second half is far better in both tracks, as there’s a greater sense of progression, not in a way that makes these pieces climax, rather in a sense that what’s being added feels like it has a lot more body and can effectively make the pieces bolder. The looped melody in “Sounds Good to Me” is a great example of that, it feels really urgent in the way that it repeats so often, not to mention it’s of course not focused on its tonal appeal, so it’s a great way to give this track the strong unnerving component it seemed to be waiting for in its first part.
The first real highlight comes with “Ratterdam,” which is both intense and uneasy. The droning bass is enough to make this track as potent as it is, but what I especially like is the pairings it pulls off: said bass feels very synthetic, but the woodblocks contrast heavily by giving off an almost tribal feel; not to mention that the ambient textures that repeatedly pop up opt for a far harsher and more industrial sound than both, so the piece is an overall extravagant cocktail, one that is very much entertaining despite the fact that it’s one of this album’s most repetitive.
The same can’t really be said about “Coffee Nerd” and the title track, which are just as repetitive as “Ratterdam,” but completely lose my interest as they go on, considering that they aren’t nearly as daring as previous tracks. Though their atmosphere is really good, and I especially like the spazzing percussion in “Coffee Nerd” because of how energetic it makes it, it gets stale rather quickly due to the inability of both pieces to shake things up.
The album picks right back up in its last leg, with the only limp piece here being the flat out boring “Wet Socks.” The very best is saved for last, as “Train to Hoofddrop” ends things off with a highlight. It’s more traditionally ambient than any other track, even though it’s still not a traditional ambient piece per se; its strength comes from its repetitiveness, as its core loop is used more as a foundational component rather than one of the track’s central pieces, making it so all the added textures feel like the actual star of the show. And they really are, to the track’s great benefit, as Multiples pull off some of the best and most unnerving timbres of the whole LP; I especially like how dynamic they are too, there’s rarely a metallic clang or synth squeal that simply pops up and then disappears, they instead often echo into the distance, venture in both stereo channels or abruptly shift in volume, all things that make these added textures’ presence far more menacing, they’re hard to ignore really.
All in all, Two Hours or Something is a record you’d want to check out if you’re really interested in what these guys are capable of pulling off other than their more well known club material. There are interesting compositions throughout, and its unpredictable nature makes them work as the discomforting pieces they want to be; that being said, there’s also a lot times where I feel like the tracks don’t amount to much, there’s few moments that are sparingly unnerving because of how much the record prioritizes keeping its tension tight; that does make it establish really good and constant atmosphere, but also leads to few tracks that can really stick with the listener.
Two Hours Or Something is available on STOOR. [Bandcamp]
