Surgeon – Pet 2000

going to be repressed+remastered oct/nov 2014 boys and girlz!!

DOWNWARDS seem to have created their own little musical oasis within the vast desert of Techno/House. Their music is straight, unwavering, using the contradiction of REICH-like microtonalism with monsterous titanic room-hogging sounds. "Badger Bite", the first track on this EP shows how SURGEON differs from his label mates - it combines all the typical DOWNWARDS elements, then adds adrenal excitement into the mix. The second side consists of two tracks - "Reptile Mess" which relaxes in it's locked groove, while harsh electronics and pitch shifted metallic shimmer bleed through. My version splutters shards of noise here & there - but that could just be the needle jumping - nerve jangling effect anyway. "Electronic Chicken" closes play - 808 clap upfront, cheek-by-jowl with funky plucking, clucking noise (hence the title). Brighter & harsh, dehumanized yet designed for humans. SURGEON has received a lot of positive press lately, and he no doubt deserves it. His style is the antithesis of subtle - an uncompromising bastard whelp of old style Industrial if ever there was one.

Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.

The A side: the best track I have heard courtesy of Anthony Child to date! Nothing he has ever composed, no matter how advanced, challenging or experimental, can ever beat the sheer vigor and impact of Badger Bite. Except for Translation by Regis, Surgeon's own Intro (Version II), Dave Clarke's Thunder and Umek's Lanicor, not a single other techno track has such harsh, stabbing, brain piercing synth stabs just overlapping each other, climbing one on top of the next - as though they have entered a competition where the most sisnister synth wins out! One of those pure, proper techno tracks, which despite their jarring and hard sound, work to equal effect at clubs and at home. You cannot go wrong with Badger Bite, as it does not leave any techno fan anywhere flat.
Reptile Mess continues in a more precise minimal style, with Surgeon's back then typical synth sound experimentation. The track has a great melodic sequence hauling through, layed over a steady, mid tempo pace. It's a great piece of work, just not as intense as the A side. Still synth heavy, but a more moderate version of the previous number. B2, Electric Chicken, is a return to the dance floors. Piercing cymbals, repetitive synth hooks, some sick background noises enter the track around the 03:30 mark, and an effective clapping effect remotely reminiscent to the one on Surgeon's Box, but the resemblance is vague.
This is in my top three all time Surgeon releases. Pure dance club devastation, but great individual tunes as well. If you really dig this one, then check out Magneeze 12" and the Communications debut album by Surgeon on Downwards. Those two are along the lines of Pet 2000.