Dave Monolith - Welcome

This thing is so damn funky it ought to be outlawed, wow, Bootsy Collins and his rubber band have nothing on what Dave's put out. For the Aphex fans who believe this is another surname of their beloved Mr. James, you're probably right. Even though I cannot stand Aphex Twin for the most part, 'Welcome' has some very identifiable touches to it. I must state that this album is the prettiest I've heard from him, a study in basslines is another way to look at this record. It's chocked full of them, so much so that the very bandwidth threatens to burst from the tremendous pressure put upon it. You will twitch, you will tap your index finger along with the beat but more than anything you will groove. To sit still while you listen to 'Welcome' is exceedingly difficult, I'm forcing myself to remain motionless just long enough to complete this piece and then I'll be shaking it madly yet again.

He wastes no time cutting to the meat of the matter, you get your four or five second intro and then those synths and drum machines (or samples thereof) hit your nerves and it's all you can do to not just jump up and down like a madman in a padded cell screaming to get out of that strait jacket and chase people up and down the hall with a meat cleaver. 'Welcome' has got to be one of the most insidiously infectious records I have ever come across because not does it just get down with the rhythms, it stretches them wickedly between bizarrely spaced out interludes which appear out of nowhere like the waves of a serious body high which takes you completely out of your conscious mind. "Covoder" is probably the track on here which is wracking my mind the most at the moment because it's so incredibly varied yet mercilessly precise, whoa, the beats and effects change quicker than I can type and before I know what the hell has happened it pauses again for a millisecond before charging over the horizon in a completely different direction.

Goddamn does the work on here give you a run for it, the pacing is absolutely insane. I'm pretty sure this is not going to be on any dj's playlist (outside the vacuous pantheon of internet gamesmanship, mind you) because the changes in tempo and choices of sounds are very innovative in ways I just know will be studied for quite some time. Damn these breakdowns are among the slickest out there, the percussion trickles along then the bass fills everything up with, here comes that word again everyone: funk. Why oh why didn't Jenkinson do a cameo on here, perhaps next time eh? If I had to pick one word to summarize what Dave Monolith's music sounds like on 'Welcome' it would be bacterial because like that species of organism, the songs once let out of my speakers continue to grow and grow at a quantum rate. Who knew I'd be having to dust off my time spent in droning college lectures on the sub-atomic arrangement of the molecular code to write a review.

This is no ordinary lab trial we have here, though, no rather it's much like taking almost violently contradicting elements and pouring them into the same test tube. Next, you shake vigorously. Finally, you hope their vitriolic nature towards one another doesn't manifest by blowing your hand off. Christ, there are some drum breaks employed on here which cannot be humanly possible to play and that's how I like them damnit. No more of this phony capitulation to the whims of the "everything must be live" crowd who should have just kept listening to their apologetic guitar based dreck. This is electronic, you twits, it is unforgiving in both it's composition and application. Lights flashing, the machinery nears overload but Dave's got his chef's hat on and I'm just happy to be the kitchen listening to what he's cooked up. Take it away, maestro. Jan 12 2012