Tertium Non Data

This disc opens with a very austere, dirge-like piece that sets the tone for the better part of the ten pieces. Anyone who has ever felt a connection with Joy Division will innately get where these two guys are coming from with the whole sombre minimalist movement. Things do a huge 180 when the trip-hop beats kick in, but they make sure to keep it all in a minor key. Just as things get very Portishead, they switch back into experimentalist mode, with the vocal work alternating between a slow motion Skinny Puppy and moments of noisy rage, à la Trent Reznor. Also, a couple guest female artists are brought in to provide some more colourful vocals to the very monochromatic background music and, overall, there is an easy feel to this set. Buzzy, fuzzy, sloppy beats carry us through what almost seems like a musical storytelling, as the tracks flow seamlessly into one another. The disc surprisingly finishes off with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s "When the Levee Breaks” — who says that drum machines and harmonicas can’t work well together?