Peter Grummich: The Roll
Spectral Sound

'Steamroll' is more like it. Spectral's premiere German artist Peter Grummich works up a disorienting, almost Dionysian frenzy in The Roll's four relentlessly stomping cuts, with the A side in particular showcasing incredible sound design. “The Roll pt. 1” pairs the rippling burble of cranium-squeezing synth lines with snippety patterns while triplets of knocks persistently resound over a huge, rumbling base; incredibly, “The Roll pt. 2” escalates the attack to even more lethal and indomitable levels. Flip the disc to hear Grummich top the tribal broil of the James T. Cotton-like “This One Jacks” with intricate swirls of swishing percussion and syncopated claps. Crowning a superb outing, “She's Nasty” begins as a slightly more straightforward pounder but grows increasingly labyrinthine as chirping synth motifs hypnotically swoop over feverish jacking pulses.

December 2005