James T. Cotton - The Dancing Box

"The Dancing Box" is aggressive and churning house bubbling up through a thick layer of sludge. The beats are jacked and filtered along with the bass lines - the effect is menacing and deep. So deep that at times this disc plays like the dancefloor manifestation of the film, Hellraiser, feverishly bumping, throbbing and gliding along the velvety edge of a nightmare. Perfect for home listening as well as the dancefloor.

Hard hitting Acid.

That short sentence describes this "Dancing Box" that James T. Cotton has created. I enjoy acid, but its probably my least favorite out of the big 3 (acid, house, trance), but once in awhile there will be an artist that makes his acid beats stand out. James, is one of those artists. The song structures are simple enough, nothing too fancy. A voice sample thrown in from time to time (Buck!, Press Your Body), but for the most part.. just straight up hard acid. I prefer to listen to this CD in sections because it does start to sound the same after awhile. Not a huge deal, but more or less it seems this album was thrown together just for select songs to be played in a club... not to be listened as a whole. If you can get past the fact that this CD doesn't flow like an album, then you're in for some top notch acidity!

On James Cotton's debut, THE DANCING BOX, he provides dark and thick dance music. It's like house after it's been flooded with run-off from a waste processing plant. "Press Your Body" fills the space with fuzz, while "The Drain" stays on a more electro kick. The sounds are purposefully messy; instead of crisp production, Cotton favors and more muddled sound. "Distant Trip," for instance, sounds like it's set in an echo chamber. But longer length works against a few of the tracks, as the messiness can grow tiring. Luckily, the relentless thump of the longest track, "Buck!," matches the driving sexual tone implied by the vocal sample. "Saavy" sounds like a chase scene from a sci-fi action movie, while "H.D.E.K." is the alien creature stalking the hero down the corridors. The title track tweaks itself loudly and proudly... as does the album in general.