Pneumatic Detach – [re.vis.cer.a]

CD, Hive Records, 2006
www.pneumaticdetach.com

This is the companion disc to the 2005 release “[vis.cer.a]”, an album that certainly impressed us here at Connexion. I have had to take my time on this review as I wanted to make sure that my words did it justice and given the sprawling nature of sounds on offer here that has not been an easy task.
First up this disc manages to fill the criteria that a remix album should. The new versions are different enough (yet retain similar atmosphere) to the originals to warrant having both albums in the collection. It has also managed to open my ears to some new artists that I may otherwise not have come across (more on them later) and perhaps most importantly of all it still manages to flow like a studio album.
Make no mistake, this is an aggressive album but it’s not full of mindless hardman posturing and it is often reined back just as the going gets a bit tough, only for it to bludgeon you again as your guard is let down. Broadly speaking, the mixes in this disc fall into three categories: breakcore, rhythmic noise and glitch. Of the breakcore mixesit’s Autoclav 1.1 and Censor that stand out most. Autoclav 1.1 bring the aggression to the track “Slowburn” (a notable diversion from his more blissed out “You Are All My And More” album), with a track which is the aural equivalent to getting your head kicked in in the middle of a prison riot, and Censor bring enough beats per minute to “Embers” to play havoc with any BPM counter. Then, just when you thought it was safe, Retnah manage to combine both the BPM and the Aggression on their mix of the already highly impressive “Relentless” that is pure distilled sonic terror.
The Liar’s Rosebush, Raxyor, and Displacer offer partial respite mid-album with some glitchy funk, subbass and eastern elements, and dowmtempo breakbeats respectively.
Of the more rhythmic mixes it’s Grenadier, Manufactura and Andraculoid that impress. Grenadier turn “Arrhythmia” into a futuristic death march while Karloz drenches “Moment Of Comprehension” in his familiar horror atmospherics which evoke images of John Carpenter sitting down to construct a rhythmic noise track. Andraculoid turn in the possible highlight of the album in which the (non-“[vis.cer.a]”) track “Minaire” is made into a regimented technoid masterpiece.
The only disappointments I found in this album were that Terrorfakt submit a very by numbers mix and the normally impressive Scrape[dx] turns in one of the more one dimensional mixes.
Overall a very high quality release, in terms of innovation and imagination Pneumatic Detach and their cohorts are well up there. I’m also very pleased to say that they excellent artwork theme of “[vis.cer.a]” has been continued on this disc

[9/10]

— Michael Hinchliffe