Customer Reviews

Muddlin Gear

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My first introduction to Jamie Lidell was his warbling R&B antics on the Super_Collider disc alongside Brighton techno misfit Cristian Vogel. While the connection between Vogel and S_C isn't too difficult to make, there is certainly a dramatic leap to arrive at Lidell's solo work. Muddlin Gear is a complete mind warp of an album. Its incessant use of effects and DSP alongside highly cut apart samples and fragments of ideas is the driving force of its scattered tracks. And somehow it manages to make a weird sort of sense out of itself, into a very clear and concise, despite occasionally confusing, end result.

A highlight is "In Inphidelik" with its highly fragmented cut apart hand claps and manipulated percussive sounds, occasionally reminiscent of Autechre's lp5, but with less deliberation. "Silent Why" (perhaps derived from Miles Davis's "In a Silent Way") recalls some of Squarepusher's more aimlessly jazzy moments while "Daddy's Car" and "The Cop It Suite" are the only selections that completely relate to the strange white R&B crooning of Super_Collider.

While the electronic IDM scene is currently flooded with many soundalike artists, Lidell has created a masterfully odd collection of equally catchy and confusing studio pieces. This album easily qualifies as one of the best of 2000.

Jamie Lidell, in my opinion, should be considered more of a priority these days on Warp. While many thought "Muddlin' Gear" was confusing, I found it to be exactly what the label needed. This is one of the label's more adventurous releases, alongside Vincent Gallo's "When" , and the recent Russell Haswell/Merzbow collaboration. Jamie Lidell shines not only vocally, but in his production skills as well, taking the hear and soul of jazz and screwing it up digitally. "The Cop-It Suite" is the album's opus, a soundtrack to a rainy day in any ol town, with beautiful violins roliin in, and Lidell's voice rounding it out. This album and it's heavy Jazz theme is taken to the fullest extent. Keeping with the very sporadic, free-flowing nature of Jazz, this album does the same thing, only with the modern IDM edge. It's smart, sexy, and funny at the same time. I'm just looking forward to the next output from Jamie, it should be pimp.

I am craving new Jamie Lidell music, and this was not it! I love to learn where artist's start, and watching them evolve. I am guessing he was young during this album. Tough to listen to this all the way through. Experimental noise is my best discription. But hold on, we get a teaser with the 'bonus track' and get some of his awesome vocals!!!!

I bought this expecting something somewhat musical. There is no music here. Random noise, yes.

Even though this is on the Warp label, it is different than what I expected. It is not, by any means, IDM. OK, there are hints of clicks and other sounds to qualify as influenced by that genre, but definitely not a part of it. I would catagorize it as noise, not in the negative sense of the word, but the musical catagory. Hectic, confusing, random, and very beautiful -- if you like that sort of thing. Very creative, but again, not like other Warp releases.