Autechre: Quaristice (Warp CD)
Rob Brown and Sean Booth, the two guys behind Autechre, are heroes of mine. Ever since their early days of Artificial Intelligence-era melodic post-techno, they've been on the vanguard of electronic listening music. They are by and large wholly responsible for the genre mis-labeled "IDM" (through no fault of their own), which spawned a surge of sound-alikes after the release of their late 90s opuses Tri Repetae++ and Chiastic Slide. The combination of broken beats, heavily manipulated electronic sounds, melancholy but gorgeous melodies, and new and innovative production techniques was incredibly fresh in the mid to late 90s, but by the time the earlier part of the next decade rolled in, melodic IDM albums were a dime a dozen. Autechre moved away from this blueprint progressively with each subsequent release, never sounding the same as those aping their style... but at what cost to listening enjoyment? An album like Confield from 2001 may be clever and academic and may indeed dodge expectations, but it's a bear to sit through sometimes. The subsequent Draft 7.30 was a little less impenetrable but still not overly resonant (despite a few standouts), and their 2004 release Untilted seemed to run on autopilot. It seemed as if they had exhausted their process-based approach and were lingering at its logical conclusion.
So it's with great pleasure that I give their newest effort Quaristice play after play, rekindling my own personal romance with their music. The magic is back, and Quaristice's 20 tracks are more than enough to prove it. What's perhaps most immediately gratifying about the album is its playfulness; there's a sense of spontaneity in here, even as the tracks themselves were probably worked over with a heavy hand in the final hour. The obtuse, weird sounds the pair have become notorious for are still present in abundance, but they way they interact with other pieces and parts makes this music feel effortless and, even in its most discordant moments, approachable. From the breezy opening chords of "Altibzz," it's obvious that this release is already more palatable than Untilted, although it's a bit of a red herring in light of the wild ride that ensues over the following hour. "The Plc" has a twitchy electro-tinged shimmy about it, "IO" has a confusing, squiggly jitter offset by affected vocal samples, while "Perlence" is anchored by a spacious drum loop, even as the melodic elements surrounding it grow progressively more impatient and prodding. Booth and Brown are smart in the use of pacing and dynamics throughout Quaristice, peppering more ambient tracks like "SonDEremawe" and "paralel Suns" between more severe things like the swirling "Fol3" or the stammering "plyPhon." The final two tracks are an extended ambient denouement, a beatless freefall that's near perfection in placement and tone. Still, what is perhaps most rewarding is the occasional nod to the project's melodic past, such as the majestic "Theswere" or the Rephlex-esque "chenc9." It is because all of these aesthetics co-exist and complement one another from track to track that Quaristice really excels.
Autechre haven't compromised much here, but their willingness to migrate from style to style rather than being more uniform this time around makes Quaristice feel like a much broader, expansive effort. It's a healthy reminder of why they earned their reputation in the first place.
mp3s: The Plc | Outh9X
more information: Autechre.ws | Myspace | Warp Records
buy it: Bent Crayon | Forced Exposure | Boomkat | Amazon | iTunes