Tipper - The Critical Path

As per the above comments, quite simply a breathtaking album.

Tipper produces here a record which does what many attempt but fail to do: true merging of multiple genres into one - the absolute symphonic beauty of 'Dissolve (In)' disrupted by the disgustingly rude drums and deep bass yet still retaining that beauty. The merging of deep, depressing and yet soulful lyrics on 'L.E.D. Down' & 'Dissolve (Out)' with the most evil breakbeats and bowel-moving bass and making it sound better then amazing.

A exercise of beauty found in depression and darkness.

I wish I had a better vocabulary to describe this album although I'm not sure you could write this album down. Genius.

Unimaginably brilliant... Tipper's sound is as distinctive as your mum's voice. It's the continual pops and clicks that come from nowhere that make his tunes something else - they aren't just shoved in there unecessarily either, they are timed perfectly and add a wonderful sense of depth and originality to what would otherwise just be an above average breaks and electro album. But The Critical Path certainly isn't average- from the dance orientated, high BPM Supersport and Seldom Vile, to the amazing concoction of melodic female vocals and Tipper's other-worldly bangs, snaps, pops and thundering basslines - all thrown in with a dollop of classical instrument samples - this album never ceases to amaze. Complex and engaging, this is much more than Electro, Breakbeat or IDM, this is cleverer and more complex than nearly all the electronica that has been churned out in recent years, and it sounds a lot more futuristic than it's release date would suggest.

More mature than Squarepusher or Goldie. Emotionally involving but more reserved than ltj bukem. Starts with incredible confidence on Seldom Vile; this artist knows he's gonna hold us for the full ride and he paces the album masterfully. What really impresses is how he never resorts to effects for effects' sake; even the most abstract crashes and breakdowns have meaning within the context of the piece, and even the album. I am a dorky Luke Skywalker staring in amazement at Tipper Yoda showing me the way of the force. I will sit through this lesson again and again.

I bought this on the strength of Tipper's mix of Leftfield's "Dusted", which was possibly the evilest thing I had ever heard at the time. The sleeve says "Standing before you is the sound you never wanted to hear", so naturally I was expecting it to be as evil as that mix of Dusted. But it wasn't. It was even eviler. The opening track, "Seldom Vile", produced some noises that appeared to tear the fabric of space. So terrifying were these sounds that I expected a horde of demons to come bursting out of the speakers. Thankfully, the demons didn't appear, but the album carried on getting darker, with the odd glimmer of beauty here and there. Soaring string courtesy of a proper orchestra meet weird glitches, frenetic breakbeats and incredibly low bass, the type that you ofte don't hear, but can feel it like a menacing presence. The tracks didn't so much play, they eminated from the speakers, growing, intensifying and evolving. On the first few listens, many of the tracks seems quite random in structure, but they slowly meld into acomprehensible form, but still sound different every time you hear them. The beautifly depressing vocals from Sophie Baker draw you in even deeper on the tracks "L.E.D Down", "Cable To Continue" and "Last Informer". Something that stands out in an already overwhelming album is "Dissolve (In)". It starts of as a pure orchestration, until the drums of doom appear, like evil scuttling beetles over a surface of jagged darkness, and bass stabs that fill the room with an unavoidable intensity. The track then slips into it's second half, "Dissolve (Out)". This is an entirely different piece of work, as massive pulsating beats pummel your senses, while Deborah Anderson's incredible vocal make the atmosphere a very uneasy one. All tracks will challenge and amaze you, and the whole album is a shining example of how electronic music can do things that nothing else can. Utterly astounding. It also comes with several hidden tracks at the end which are just bass experiments, but really could cause serious damage to your speakers (and your head for that matter).

This is not for the faint hearted, but you will feel things you've never felt before, andhear things you did not think possible. Nothing like it has ever been created, and will never be created again.