Greater Explosives

Something tells me that Damian Valles will be cashing some royalty checks soon. Art-house directors and hip film companies have finally figured out that an electronic soundtrack can make their movies that much more slick and atmospheric (even hiring out music supervision duties to labels like Warp and electronic-friendly artists like Kevin Shields). It’s only a matter of time before somebody puts Valles’ Greater Explosives project into their film. Tuneful, full-bodied and all together beautiful, Construction/ Destruction is made for visual accompaniment. Known around Toronto more for his drumming in I Can Put My Arm Back On, You Can’t and his guitar playing in the Ivy League than his beat programming, it’s that prolific nature and widely varied musical vocabulary that makes this record so good. Though it carries a neatly defined aesthetic quality throughout — tipping a hat to Four Tet’s melody-soaked, mid-tempo style — it’s immediately obvious that Construction/Destruction is sharp and fresh thanks to Valles’ diverse taste and varied ability. If you like pretty melodies, open chords and interesting beats, seek this out.