This album has been compared to Autechre's early work (think Incunabula, Amber and Tri Repetae) but it never really reminded of AE's sound. Formless is just that, it has no definite shape or influence. I find the sound hard to explain but the IDM trate is certainly present. Walls and waves of electronica will consume the listener. Its a real shame that Gridlock stopped making music after this album but at least they went out with one hell of a bang. Get it.

Here's another perfect example, of how dating music can underestimate its beauty and importance - a 2003 release on Hymen that still holds up really well today. San Francisco's Mike Cadoo and Mike Wells decided to end the ten-year Gridlock project in 2005, yet Cadoo continued his development in music and released an acclaimed ambient and shoegazer album on highly regarded n5MD label (which, incidentally, he manages), titled In Distance, under his Bitcrush alias. In Formless, we can already detect Cadoo's early transformation into atmospheric soundscapes offset by solid, post-industrial influenced IDM beats, that he has been perfecting with Wells, along with his drum'n'bass influences from releases as Dryft. Gridlock even managed to secure a spot on a coveted Travel Sickness box set compilation (which I finally tracked down in Spain and snatched at a hefty price). To me, this is the music that blends all of my favorite elements, and is at the root of definition of IDM, even as the term is on its way out. Highly recommended for collectors who wish to own a piece of history. RIYL: Beefcake, Architect, Proem, Displacer. Favorite tracks: Pallid, Chrometaphor, and Displacement

Not only is it a new level in the IDM genre, but also a rare example of divine, utterly perfect and infinitely beautiful record that totally blows your mind, your heart and your soul at one time. It's not formless at all - the form is well planned and wonderfully executed - but it's definitely timeless. Apparently it was produced by God himself, or at least someone close to Him... Buy, steal, borrow, do anything but get it. Missing this one is unforgivable.

While it is true that Formless isn't as passionate as Gridlock's early albums, it has a lot of other virtues to showcase.

First, their sound on this album, despite being variative and "formless", is now very mature and stable in quality. It is clear to me that it is scrupulously constructed and refined to the point of being unimprovable.

The cascades are rich and complex, and have multiple layers to them. The tracks don't sound overly similar to each other, but at the same time, they blend seamlessly and convey similar atmosphere in one beautiful flow. The interludes (tracks #3, #7 and #13) serve this purpose as well. This is a sign of a truly cohesive *album*, rather than just an assembly of several good tracks with some fillers mixed in (earlier albums used to give me such a feeling).

Despite some abrasive and glitchy beats Gridlock is known for (which became more IDM-influenced starting with Trace), the melodies on this album make it very calm and soothing overall. Even the more upbeat tracks (Pallid, Displacement, Atomontage, etc.) don't make you bang your head violently to the rhythm or "dance like you're selling nails" (© Venetian Snares) -- quite the opposite, even they are made with thoughtful and careful listening in mind. Lastly, the beautiful ambient epilogue, Done Processing, (which reminds me of both Gridlock's earlier track Under and Aphex Twin's Stone in Focus) is so warm and soothing it could serve as an excellent lullaby.

In conclusion: with their last album, Gridlock has cut down on passion, but gained a lot in craftsmanship and sound richness. This is Gridlock's magnum opus, and one of my favorite experimental electronic music albums to date. Fully recommended to all you who liked the kind of stuff Autechre was doing before LP5 came out.

I enjoyed a good deal of the tracks, but most of the tracks blended so much together that I merely lost interest. About 6 of the 15 tracks I really got into. After that, it sounded like filler, I gotta say. I only own "Further" other than this album, and I dig "Further" a lot more. Their music was getting to be completely soft and "formless" and dull. I love the more abrasive, meaningful early works which were more naive, yet more passionate.

A much fuller and richer production than Gridlock's earlier albums. While staying true to their theory of 'contrast' within the music, they also adopt more of an IDM style (which began to develop with 'Trace') but still maintaining the industrial roots in which they came from on Pendragon Records. A must have from the Hymen collection.