Lusine Icl.* – Iron City

I have to disagree with the previous comment. A largely downtempo IDM affair, Iron City will probably disappoint fans of Jeff McIlwain's later techno work, but for fans of the genre it remains one of the finest examples of US IDM from the turn of the decade. The overall mood is often one of isolation and foreboding, but there is light among the darkness and melody within the abstract forms. A minimal, droning sense of melody pervades; chimes and bells that recall the work of Steve Reich are surrounded by hissing static and digital glitches, all underpinned by strong, solid drums and deep basslines. The standard of production is as you would expect from a professional sound designer such as McIlwain; many IDM albums from the same era seem like amateur bedroom affairs in comparison. Truly this is one of McIlwain's finest works, and one of my personal favourites. A must for any IDM fan.

This release doesn't do a lot for me. Lusine is extremely talented, but most of what's on this disc is far too restrained and like-sounding. "Invisible" grows on me, and I love the 4/4 kick and tricky mix of "Bent", but after that it's variations of a theme of downtempo beat driven anti-climatic fills with no real direction. This is not like his usually more exciting and creative releases.