For me this was the hardest release to get into (Even more so than Gantz Graf - and Draft 7.30 is the most straightforward material they have done in quite a few years in my opinion,) and truth be told I've still not got my head round a lot of it yet. As a big fan of Autechre I know that I have to persevere with it and I will be rewarded. Pen Expers has a stunningly beautiful melody, and note that the beats sound straight forward until the barely-audible chords come in.. as you start to concentrate on the melody the beats go more and more haywire... and as the synth melody is brought to an abrupt end you realise the chaotic drum patterns remaining... genius.

This LP, along with Envane EP is their finest work to date. It is a very conscious departure from the comparitively normal-sounding works of their first three LPs. Dangerously avant-garde and uncompromising (I read that Trent Reznor refused US distribution on his Nothing Records imprint when it was released due to it being so experimental,) yet extremely confident.

It is the sound of machines singing in the darkness, it sounds as if there is no human intervention here whatsoever, yet despite the gritty sounds and it's often menacing mood it has an undeniable funk, depth, warmth and awesome beauty that I don't think has been captured in the releases since. This LP has to be listened to as a whole, from beginning to end.