Daniel Meteo: Peruments
Meteosound

Peruments, the debut solo release from Bus driver and Meteosound head Daniel Meteo, is largely ~scape-styled digi-dub though with some differences. The album's overall feel is looser for one, and, true to dub form, the tunes (e.g. “Peters Bounce (Eps)”) often feel less like fully-realized compositions than playful, home-made sketches. Even so, the songs' intricate arrangements and detailed sound design hold the listener's interest. Meteo apparently sequenced the album so that club tracks appear first, followed by dub, downtempo, and house cuts, and finally more experimental tracks he calls 'Peru.' In practice, however, categorical differences recede with the tracks instead sounding like dubbed-out stylistic variations on a common theme. Opener “Music Ohne Sound” nicely couples a recurring cymbal splash with a meandering church organ, and “(Peru Arrives) Just In Time” works up tasty guitar-based funk, but it's the closing trio—the harder-edged “It's Maybe Late for Fou,” psychedelic “Peruments,” and becalmed “Good Bye Nice Try”—that makes the strongest impression.

May 2006