Autechre ‎– Tri Repetae

Great repress, v happy with the sq, very little surface noise. Don’t hesitate to grab this version

After an inspired but not-quite-groundbreaking debut (Incunabula), and a spotty second effort (Amber), Tri Repetae is where Autechre finally hit their stride.

The first thing you notice is that they've kicked the sound design up a notch. The familiar 606 percussion of their early years is gone, replaced by the distorted sound of metal on metal. Tempo is kept by minimalist clicks and gut-wobbling bass stabs, like in lugubrious opener "Dael". Synth timbres have been tweaked and filtered into the otherworldly wheezes of exhausted factory equipment.

The album art shows a series of discomfiting, digitally-altered images of sinister machines. The front cover is some pantone shade that looks like a shiny green oil slick. It fits perfectly.

But it's not all doom & gloom: this album also does euphoric ("Eutow"), playful ("C/Pach"), and pensive ("Overand", a quietly pulsating ambient track that bests anything from "Amber"). Finally there's the mysterious "Rsdio", which is like eavesdropping on an alien transmission that finally slides into the subaudible range. All of Tri Repetae is so rhythmically and melodically inventive that even the few points where it drags ("Leterel", "Stud") are still pleasant.

Warp's recent vinyl reissue is brilliant. The audio quality is top notch: I'm not sure if it's been remastered or if my ears are playing tricks on me, but it sounds even better than the original CD release. The price was reasonable too, and I can only hope they'll continue with the rest of Autechre's back catalog.

I could go on like this. To sum up, Tri Repetae is vital 1990s electronica that should appeal even to some listeners who don't typically dip their toes into this style of music.

Sounds amazing. The packaging is great too, front and back is just grey, with some beautiful mechanical artwork on the inner sleeves. I just wish it had the disc order on there, sometimes it's hard to remember track order. One thing to know before buying is that the rectangular sticker on the front is attached to the sleeve, not the shrinkwrap. Anyone know how to safely remove it?