James Ruskin ‎– Into Submission

The cover art slightly reminisces of Portion Reform's "The supreme negative", and once the CD bookklet is opened, the predominant brushes of grey and black make one thing of the Birmingham masterpiece. However, Ruskin's "Into submission" isn't as opressive, yet it still manages to create a somewhat darker, if not cloudy atmosphere.
As far as consistency goes, this one is way more coherent than his previous two solo albums, "Further design" and "Point 2". Most tracks are repetitive, and revolve around dark(ish), brooding rhythmical patterns and really impressive effects, sounds. But it's much more than that. Take, for example, Against Your Will, a slow techno number with a reverberating and echoing percussion, while numerous melodies make way into the foreground.
Followed by another highlight, Paranoia, which keeps the dance floors in tact without losing challenge. Long, driving, hypnotic, with enough variations to validate a listen regardless of the occasion. With a really deep bass line, and slightly off-beat beat, Paranoia strikes that fine balance between club insanity and smacking a large smile on your crew's face when you blast it in your living room!
The entire album is loaded with great music. James Ruskin finally found a midway between hard hitting club bangers and techno music which hasn't got to wreck your amplifier in order to sound good. All tracks have really deep, if not overwhelming bass lines, but there is also always a lighter melody, or a softer pad, or any kind of sequence which makes things all the more interesting than listening to the same loop and 4x4 percussion on repeat for five minutes throughout ten tracks. Although most of the tunes here follow a similar formula, it is tracks like the ones I have mentioned before and Escape Or Die, which sounds just like you should that. Slow, with drones, sounding like doomed prisoners sending out their last cry for help from the deepest dungeon of them all. Beware, it is not hard or mechanical, it is just so darn dark and eerie, plus it rolls at a snail's pace, and it really does sound like a bulldozer was approaching your building at minimum speed but maximum determination to tear it down.
Dilemma leaves you with none of that whatsoever - pure club goodness. Rocking steady percussion with cool, floating effects on top.
What Remains, with its off-beat structure reminds of many tracks that would later on be forged under Oscar Mulero's mighty Warm Up imprint, while the closing number here, The Next Broadcast, is a broken beat number, with some weird effects and plenty screeching noises in the background. A great way to close this album.
To conclude, with the exception of Paranoia, there isn't a single other track here which cuts my top ten list of James Ruskin tracks, or so I think at the moment, but I cannot escape the feeling that this is my favorite album of his, all things said and done. Clocking in at just fifty two minutes, and covering enough territory in that time span, plus not lowering the quality rate for a single moment, Ruskin delivers an album which can successfully satisfy many people. It has stuff suitable for clubs, without losing the avid bed room listeners' attention. As much as I regret there isn't a single other track as memorable as Paranoia, that fact alone makes me all the more glad because this entire album, front to back, is quality material. There has never been a single track I wanted to skip here, and eventough sometimes I do wish for 2-3 more stand outs, albums with ten consecutive great tracks are a rarity! Do check it out!