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Pitch Black: Rude Mechanicals

A fine way to mark the genius duo's 10 year anniversary in the game, 'Rude Mechanicals' begins with a familiar keyboard skank and rimshot hits in South of the Line then heads off for parts unknown. The collection seems to wend from extroversion to introspection and back again. At its heart are three instrumentals that mix equal amounts of science and sorcery to affect a type of soft neurosurgery - best appreciated with quality headphones. Sonic Colonic opens an echo corridor of clattering percussive sixteenths and surging bass, zooming in a microscoping fractal pattern. Harmonia seems to be constructed from the digestive noises of small electronic frogs. The beautiful Fragile Ladders is anchored around a piano motif and uses insect gnawing noises to focus attention. This track particularly seems to drag you deep inside your own cerebellum. As with 'Ape to Angel' there are guest vocal tracks, but thankfully these are not overused and bookend the powerfully subtle instrumentals. Transient Transmissions uses astronaut despatches and Please Leave Quietly incorporates the sound of shifting river stones. Pitch Black have built a lot of goodwill with their lineage of quality releases and live shows, and this latest is a superlative addition to the canon.

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