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VA: Shockout Vol. 1 Shockout is a Tigerbeat6 sub-label that crossbreeds the extreme electronic styles of roster artists like Kid606 with the raw ragga, dub, and jungle issued by Wayne Lonesome's Run Things label. Shockout Vol. 1 pairs tracks from previously released 12” and 7” discs with exclusive new cuts from DJ/Rupture, COM.A, Poirier, and Eight Frozen Modules. The comp's fifteen tracks are bookended by superb contributions from Strategy (the album's sole instrumental pieces) which are rather more animated than the dubby fare on Paul Dickow's stellar kranky releases (Strut , Drumsolo's Delight); the opener “Dunes Dub,” for example, lays some sweet melodica over a dancing groove of deep bass and aquatic echo. The inner thirteen songs form a challenging, sometimes caustic core with “No Heathen-Ghetto Plazma Mix,” for example, representative of the overall sound. Here, distorted treatments of Wicked Act's toasting are coupled with COM.A's rollicking rhythms, with off-beat guitar scratching the anchoring element throughout. Other memorable moments include Ghislain Poirier's dancehall-hip-hop fusion, Tech Level 2's (Justin Broadrick of Godflesh and Techno Animal fame) siren-laden jungle base, and The Bug's pummeling beat clatter. MCs like Seba, Collage, and Mexican roar loudly throughout to generally good effect but the project's marred by Wayne Lonesome's excessive presence. Though the rabid bark of his ragga toasting admittedly suits the context (his gravelly growl is most palatable on “Dem Nuh Know Me–Yoga Mix,” a collaboration with Team Shadetek), his presence on eight of the thirteen 'voice' tracks gradually grows tiresome. Furthermore, when heard in such generous proportions, the one-dimensionality of his feverish attack is brought into sharper relief. Aside from that rather crippling weakness, though, the album does succeed in providing a comprehensive overview of Shockout's intense, cranium-crippling style. November 2004 This review also appears in Signal To Noise, issue 37. |
