Albums

Meat Beat Manifesto - Answers Come In Dreams

Alex Yau 12/12/2010

Rating: 3.5/5

Jack Dangers (aka Meat Beat Manifesto)sculpts electronic music in different ways each time. This time on Answers Come In Dreams, instead of opting for large hooks, minimalism is the key. It's only with 'Mnemonic' that the answers begin to reveal their worn down mechanical heads to us.

Beforehand, atmosphere, bi polar synthesis and swarming percussive features were presented to you as if you were entranced in a dystopian dream state.

Then the thick, heavy industrial bass and percussion of 'Mnemonic' pounds away violently like a psychotic Donkey Kong.

Even then the distinction between genres gets moulded together and twisted into a demented shape. 'Token Words' draws in the boundaries between pure lo fi industrial and minimalist dub step whilst 'Luminol' drops those fat distinctive bass tones that makes dub step warp out at you. '#zero''s pulsing and oscillating synthesisers swim around your head like a cracked up Tron, whilst the violent distortion jumps and startles you.

Answers Come in Dreams is like a rollercoaster in shape. It's calm before that final exhilarating drop. It rattles and tears the tracks before it plunges you down before the calm returns to you. It can get a little too calm, however, taking you to limbo for a little longer than desired.