VA: Death is Nothing to Fear Vol. 2
Spectral

The second 12-inch installment in Spectral's Death Is Nothing To Fear series pairs new exclusives by familiar Ghostly/Spectral contributors James T. Cotton (Tadd Mullinix aka Dabrye) and Geoff White (aka Aeroc) with cuts by Mikael Stavöstrand and newcomer Plan Tec. Listeners familiar with the incredible The Dancing Box won't be at all surprised to learn that “2 Keys” is another prototypically fantastic acid colossus that Mullinix seems able to manufacture effortlessly. Stavöstrand nurtures an altogether different but no less appealing vibe in “Can You See Thru My Eyes” which escalates from twilight slow-burn to jacking skip. With the tune sufficiently on its feet, Stavöstrand scatters spindly percussive fields and oscillating synth warbles over the song's determinedly marching groove. Buenos Aires-based Jonas Kopp spreads what resembles an amplified mass of cicadas over a lethally chugging pulse in his remix of Plan Tec's “Espias Psiquicos.” The cut grows so relentlessly throughout its eight minutes that its force rivals “2 Keys,” especially when a tidal waves of synth streams threatens to swallow the groove whole. Ending the EP on a significantly sunnier note, the exuberant clockwork techno of White's smooth “Apartmental” sounds downright gleeful by comparison. Ghostly and Spectral never issue sub-par material and this latest gathering upholds the label's high standard.

July 2007