Reissues is where it’s at right now. 10th anniversary, 20th anniversary, just for the hellofitaversary... It’s not necessarily a bad thing, even if anniversaries to have a tendency to remind the fan just how fucking old they are. But a reissue, while it can be a shameful way of milking a committed fanbase, can also prompt reappraisal of an album that may have been neglected at the time of its release.
65dasofstatic have grown in many ways in the 10 years since the release of their debut album, rereleased here with a slew of bonus tracks for download (namely the ‘Hole’ EP in its entirety and the ‘Retreat! Retreat!’ single and attendant B-sides).
It’s a massive noise collision; glitchy beats and speaker-shredding distortion break down to bleeps and stutters, post-rock mellowness and passages that border on ambience and glitchtronica. Small wonder they prompted comparisons to The Aphex Twin, although any comparisons whatsoever are reductive and limiting – something that can’t be said for the explosive and unpredictable assault that is ‘The Fall of Math.’ Even now, in 2014 – or perhaps now more than ever – ‘The Fall of Math’ sounds radical, ambitious, challenging, something apart.
At times demonstrating a propinquity for monumental neoprog comparable to Oceansize, they’re equally willing to dive headlong into fucked-up techno; the title track is little short of a complete headfuck, bursts of extreme volume propelled by programmed drums ramped up to a frenetic pace blasting through a rolling piano. Staccato guitars weave and drive between sonic depth charges of blistering drum ‘n’ bass.
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Samples fade in and out unexpectedly, and they’re cut to ribbons, warped, fractured and stutter as they’re slowly washed away in tidal waves of guitars and washes of extraneous sound on sound. ‘This Cat is a Landmine’ is a veritable cataclysm by any standards, and ‘Fix the Sky a Little’ demonstrates a capacity for crescendo any post-rock act of a certain vintage would slit their own wrists for.
Put simply, it’s a strong album that’s not only aged well, but stands out a full decade on as being unique and exhilarating.
65daysofstatic Online
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