Autechre

A double release and an all-around first from Warp Records, Gantz Graf features a DVD video release with a three-track EP by Autechre that clocks in at just less than 20 minutes. The material on Gantz Graf is not as abstract as Confield, but is still quite complex, straddling the line between catchy and adventurous. Overall, this CD is quite angular, in the way the breaks and rhythms are crowded together, resulting in a compact and dense album. Texturally, this album is a fascinating listen, as the gradations in sounds are like the brittle ends of broken graphite: fragmented, but revealing the complex patterns therein. "Cap.IV" is the most intricate and fascinating track, with ten minutes of pure sound compression and a melody imbedded within like an image in a 3-D puzzle. As for the DVD half of this release, the Gantz Graf video features a repeatedly exploding and re-morphing power generator, with the fluctuations keeping time to the music. Another track, "Bass Cadet," appears to be an animation of microbes, both organic and inorganic, altering a larger life form. Though the graphic and sound quality of the DVD video is excellent, it is too bad there is no linear narrative, but the fact that the images keep time to the music is a great feat in itself.