Asa Breed

Matthew Dear, Peter Bjorn and John

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Original Release Date: June 5, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ghostly Int'l
• ASIN: B000PAAI02
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #183,340 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Tech man Matthew Dear has spent the last several years dipping his toes into pop, and while Asa Breed doesn't exactly dive into the deep end, it gets Dear pretty well soaked. Initially associated with the Richie Hawtin school of Detroit minimalism, he's been diversifying his sound over the course of his prolific recorded output (he also records under the names Jabberjaw and False, among others) since at least 2003's Leave Luck to Heaven. But Breed is more song-oriented and accessible than anything else he's released, even as it rolls out the sharp-edged studio craft that has built Dear's reputation as a producer. Songs like "Pom Pom" are fractured new wave flashbacks while short and seemingly simple songs like "Death to Feelers" get deeply ambient, revealing new layers with repeated listens. Another trick that helps soften the record is the work done on Dear's droning baritone. An acquired taste at best, he wisely chose to give it a sharper electro edge, mixing it up in a Nick-Cave-meets-Gary Numan way as his lyrics bounce between nonsensical and sarcastic. Stripped down and largely acoustic songs like "Midnight Lovers" and "Vine to Vine" only add minimal effects, letting Dear's weird words drive the music forward. While some fans hoping for a proper DJ record might be disappointed, Asa Breed is clearly the work of a man who wants little or nothing to do with what's expected. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected., November 26, 2007

By	Gary Peterson (San Diego, California USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Matthew Dear is an interesting and creative fellow. I own three Dear CDs and an Audion disc. He presents quite an array of musical tapestries and provides some delightful listening. I'd judge him to be one of the best "instrumental" musicians in the techno/electronica field, but I don't particularly care for his vocals. Unfortunately, his new Asa Breed disc features him as a vocalist on every track.

On the Asa Breed disc, Matthew Dear presents music that is softer, mellower and slower. Guitar, backing vocals and even some strings are added. In places, it almost sounds popish, like something you might hear on the radio. This seems like a radical departure for Dear and I had clearly expected (and hoped) he would go more in the direction of his Audion alter ego. In any case, Dear presents 13 tracks of pleasant listening music. All the tracks are good, particularly if you like somewhat mellow backgroundish music. If I had to indicate favorite tracks, mine would be "Shy," " Pom Pom," "Midnight Lovers" and "Good to be Alive." My least favorites would include "Elementary Lover," Don and Sherry" and "Give Me More."

I'm somewhat at a loss to rate this disc. I clearly enjoy Matthew Dear music. "Leave Luck to Heaven" and the Audion disc fit my musical tastes much better than the "Asa Breed" disc. Dear is such a creative fellow that I hate to damn him for a disc that I don't particularly care for. However, were I not aware of his other discs I might like this one very much. Let's just say I'm disappointed. I expected something else. Others might enjoy the disc very much. I'll give it four stars. Listen to a few tracks and use your own judgement.

Gary Peterson

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting new direction weakened by sub-par vocals on every track., March 7, 2008

By	Steward Willons - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I'm a big Matthew Dear fan - he's making some of the most interesting minimal techno coming out of the states right now. Unfortunately, vocals are not his strong point. He's said as much himself. So that leaves the question: why do an album full of vocal tracks? The lyrics are fine - nothing amazing, but not stupid. I think the reason that Ellen Allien can do so many vocal tracks is that she has a very distinctive approach that doesn't involve a lot of straight-up "singing" - it's kind of like 3D of Massive Attack. The guy has a one octave range, but it doesn't matter because he basically whispers most of his lyrics. I think that if Dear tried for something a bit different, he'd find great success.

Enough about the vocals. The music is fine. It's a little more melodic and there isn't such an oppressive minimalist aesthetic. There's acoustic guitar on a couple tracks for crying out loud! It's definitely unexpected, but it works. The first part of the CD sounds fairly similar to "Leave Luck to Heaven" and it's not until later that things really become strange. Again, strange in a good way. As long as he keeps putting out albums as Audion as well, I'll be happy. This is good music, but I really love his minimal techno.

Asa Breed will appeal to a broader audience - not that he's necessarily trying to be more easily accessible. It's an interesting new direction. I just hope that on his next CD he leaves the vocal work to someone else.

4.0 out of 5 stars I recommend this CD, November 21, 2007

By	Robert Brent "R. Brent" (NYC) - See all my reviews

I really liked this cd, nice mellow tempo with good innovative sounds; although I really love the straight ahead minimal beats of Audion, his other venture in music. This CD feels much warmer than other minimal stuff I've been listening to lately such as Ellen Allien or some of the Kompakt label artists. I don't hate his vocal but I do think "TV on the Radio" does it much better with harmonies and general enthusiasm. This is really a nice bridge between minimal tech and new folk, perhaps predicting the next step in music. It's also wonderful to hear an artist expressing different aspects of his musical taste, it is so inspiring.