ARTICLES
Ten Questions: Fat Jon
MUTEK 2006

ALBUMS
65daysofstatic
A Cloud Mireya
Ambarchi and Ng
Another Elec. Musician
Derek Bailey
Band Ane
Barzin
Black Gold 360
The Blow
Boduf Songs
Childs
Darc Mind
Dosh
Duopandamix
Fat Jon & Styrofoam
Liam Gillick
Shuta Hasunuma
Tim Hecker
Ilkae
Jack's Son
Richard Jäverling
Jazzkammer
Junior Boys
Last Days
Hanno Leichtmann
Luomo
Mandelbrot Set
Mountaineer
N.Phect & Dizplay
Part Timer
Karsten Pflum
Benoît Pioulard
Plus Device
+/- {Plus/Minus}
Relay
Saroos
Seht
Shedding
So Percussion
Sybarite
Trio Vopá
Marshall Watson
Weather Report
Donato Wharton
Christopher Willits
Xela

COMPILATIONS/MIXES
ESL Remixed
Four Tet
Garnier & Craig
Ginglik Saturdays
Michael Mayer
Henrik Schwarz

3"/7"/10"/12"/EPs
Colleen
Delano and Xpansul
Detritus
Ed Devane
Eskimo
Feathers
Goldmund
Ezekiel Honig/Graphic
Ezekiel Honig
Eliot Lipp
Robert Lippok
Alejandro Lopez
Evan Marc
Porter & Carr
Sebastian Russell
Somone Else
Spaceships & Pings
SplitEP3
Simon Whetham

Relay: Still Point of Turning
Bubblecore

On its full-length debut, Philadelphia outfit Relay merges throbbing, guitar-drenched shoegaze with a thick keyboard-heavy attack, resulting in a Spector-like ‘wall-of-sound' that at times resembles a raucous New Order with Bernard Sumner's distinctive voice exchanged for a more restrained and hushed vocal delivery. Consequently, a tension develops throughout the album between the soft vocal swoon (often situated far back in the mix) and the roaring instrumental swirl that constantly threatens to drown it. To be honest, with his vocals so smothered by the group's guitar onslaught, I can only guess as to what de facto leader Jeff Ziegler might be singing about, but it hardly matters when Relay's impact is clearly founded on the songs' crushing wallop, not their lyrics.

November 2006