The second full length from Pan American, any review of which would be incomplete without some nods to the Chain Reaction school and the subsequent rise of Pole and his “urban dub” sound.
Most of the live sounding elements of the first album have gone, and what you are left with is a lot of reverb soaked, muted dub bass lines, some clicking and shuffling percussion and distant keyboard lines. Some much needed variety arrives in the form of the singers from the band Low and a Rob Mazurek letting rip on a “coronet” [sic]. I’m not sure the brass solo works against the incredibly static four to the floor number that is “Double Rail”. Things aren’t much better with the tranquil dub number “Both Ends Fixed”, that closes the album. Here the rhythm section is quietly changing, but there is nothing that really appears to be responding to Mazurek’s horn, and conversely nothing for him to respond to either.
The track “Code”, with Al Sparhawk and Mimi Parker singing away all doubled up, works much more effectively. The vocal creates an absolutely beautiful tension that lifts the album from its washed out monochrome.
Likewise, “Coastal” builds some genuine atmosphere with a jittery rhythm section of muffled, echoing percussion. It also has some beautiful dynamics as waves of percussion and harmonies ebb and flow.
Overall, I’ve found the album a disappointment. The lumbering bass-lines or murky techno pulses present all tracks generally drag the mood down, pulling it away from a relaxing listen to something plodding and heavy. Repeat listens have left me certain that the tracks I like I will like for a long time, but also unconvinced of the release as a whole.
360 Business / 360 Bypass is out now on Kranky Records.
