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3.0 out of 5 stars
Igloo Magazine's REVIEW, December 14, 2005
This review is from: The Beeps (Audio CD)
Review by: Mat Propek at [...]
(12.14.05) Reading Brandon LaSan's bio at Quake Trap, I am struck by the amount of musically chaos which has pursued this lad (or, even, which he has pursued) over the last ten years as he been an itinerant DJ, a bedroom producer, a ring-tone noise-maker and a classroom instructor (in 'beat-making,' naturally). The Beeps, his latest effort recorded under the moniker of Yoko Solo for Quake Trap, follows this same sort of chaotic path through modern music genres.
Beats abound; let's not stray from that thought. Beats drive everything in Yoko Solo's world, whether they are break-beat, hip-hop, dirty drum 'n' bass or the sludge which percolates through the sub-basements of old school buildings during the winter months. "Kluge (?!)" churns and hums with increasing tension, building up to chaotic plateaus which vanish beneath the rolling rhythm. The three part "Infinite Collapse" winds through multi-faceted terrain, beginning with a simple melody in "Pt One: I Blew It (Infinite Undo)" that picks up a drum kit and hitches on down the road (staggering slightly as it drops notes and skewed bits of noise). "Pt Two: Sickly Assassin" lurches with heavy beats and atmospheric stabs of misshapen synth noises while a chorus of spectral monks moan in the background like a forgotten choir. Solo pulls a nice sequel into "Pt Three: Bang U Up Dummy," transforming the sepulchral second part into a downtown beat-box vibe with a hiccuping loop of hip-hop vocals, a bit of tight guitar and that same drunken beat.
Sirens wail through "These Are The Beeps" as beats echo up and down empty city streets while "The Alarm (9000)" hovers overhead in a shuddering downdraft of glitch and scattered rhythm. "Partial Collapse/Useless Control Systems (I've Got No Rights)" bubbles with metallic percussion, back-alley beat construction that sounds like the sanitation workers are trying out for Stomp!. "noWave" hums with theremins, satellite transmissions and celestial keyboard harmonics while marching around the room to the rhythm of an old synthesizer drum loop.
LaSan's got an inventive mind and he leaps without prevarication from style to style, bouncing off all manner of sounds and textures. The Beeps spews itself across the musical landscape a little too haphazardly; a bit of cohesion would have made this record a more fluid listening experience. As it is, it is an interesting glimpse into the every-changing mind of a modern beat mixer.
The Beeps is out now on Quake Trap.
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