(04.30.07) Quake Trap is a US-based label that has (recently) released the latest LP
by Thumbtack Smoothie entitled Fall Back. Thumbtack Smoothie has released
a host of MP3/CD releases on Quake Trap, but what’s the latest like?
Thumbtack Smoothie’s style is along the lines of aggro glitch electronics.
“Sweet Wilma On Maneuvers” is a battle of shattered beats razor blading past
each other as metallic grunts and shafts collide. Some 303 tweaks move
across before deep tones take hold of the track before it fades. The
Tigerbeat 6 angry teen beats follow on into the creatively titled “Whiplash
Phantasm Beneath the Drywall” and into the equally intense “Chipple.”
“Monkupine” moves into a more structured setting. The sound shaving beat
rushes continue, but basslines loom amongst the composite’s chaos. “Melody
from a Westbound Ghost Train” comes to life through electronic glitch and
atmospheric tones. Spectral shifts flow through the track with light melodic
keys floating in. Beats are not the focus of this number, but sound
experimentation with the piece ending in a warped fade out which lasts some
time. The beats return with “Pupcin,” but are less extreme as the
forerunners. The album follows along the same line until the short, but
explosive “Ember,” a tweaking, squelching acid influenced electronic number.
“Pining for 1997” brings the beats back, fast and early Squarepusher style
drums rush and pull the track; illustrating the sudden changes that can
happen in Fall Back.
“Beard of Bees” brings the listener back to experimentation. Bludgeoned
electronic corrosions are looped to tedium before being scratched and mixed
into an interesting track. “Troublems” is a more laid back track. Thumbtack
Smoothie continues to play and pull with his soundscapes, with ambient
elements hovering in amongst the scraped machinery. “Let the Rhythm
Point…Quickly…Yog!” finishes off the album. Tormented mecha men groans rip
the track into being as distorted lines are flung into the mix. Beats raise
their heads, but are subdued under a wave of glitch and noise. And abrasive
track to end the album on.
Fall Back is an album with some surprises. The first few tracks seem like
another angry, Kid 606 fuelled artist; but the glitch and noise come
together to make an album that has some interesting elements. This is not
just another album of computer clogged sound, but a working in the other
side of electronica.
Fall Back is out now on Quake Trap. [Purchase
