Eprom

If there's one thing you have to admire about Eprom, it's his complete lack of subtlety. Everything on this release — from the deep, wonky rumbles to the soft treading down synth stairways — is undertaken with childlike confidence and downright brazenness. Nothing comes across as overly edited or laboured. Halflife proudly displays Eprom's gall on a Technicolor podium with outlandish bass-pummelled tracks "Hurricane," "Beasts of Babylon" and dizzying album opener "Centre of the Sun." Most of the songs sound like a Sega Genesis brawling with a tag team of filters and delays in an underground arena somewhere near the Earth's core. There are retro-computer game sounds littered throughout Halflife, which are blended with low-slung, grinding hip-hop beats to create some unique tracks. Of course, when mixing elements as contradictory as these, things do get garish, at times, but when Eprom does pull it off, it's magical. While Halflife starts off in your face and heavy, it simmers down towards the end before finishing with the warm embrace of "Cloud Leanmixx." This album goes from pole to pole, confusing millions along the way.