Frontier is a three- piece out of Chicago exploring the more experimental electronic edge of the trance- rock plane. That they've found their home on the consistently interesting Perishable Records makes sense; the tiny Chicago label is home to some curious musicians bent on exploring organic machine treatments in the context of ancient song forms. Frontier should fit in just fine.

Suture is an aptly- titled record, a patchwork remix thing from the get-go. The way it went down, Frontier recorded the original instrumental tracks, sampled them, and handed the results over to post- production engineers for looping and further manipulation. The remixers then shaped the tracks that became the Suture EP. As an added bonus, the vinyl version (which I don't have, sadly) contains twenty locked grooves containing loops of the original samples so that you, little home DJ, can do your own thing with the tracks.

From a musical standpoint, Suture is a solid EP. Fortunately, the remixers involved here (Casey Rice, Tim Hurley, John David Hiler) seem to share a sensibility, which gives the record a unified feel. The tone is dark, ominous, and intense. The opening "Autoclave," assembled by John David Hiler, combines an eerie drone with a driving drum loop, offering an almost gothic trance feel. "Nutley 10," worked over by Tim Hurley and Brian Deck of Red Red Meat, combines samples of a Bill Clinton speech with a drum-n-bass pattern made all the more interesting because they sample live drums with the airy spaciousness of the kit intact, an odd contrast to most programmed beats.

Showing some real electronic sophistication, "Retractor" uses squishy samples to provide a sinister Aphex Twin kind of experience. "Aether" is all Fripp and Eno droning ambience, while "Strong City" is an actual song with processed voices, burning with the sad machinistic intensity of Pink Floyd's Meddle. For those who want some dark electronic abstraction coloring their post- rock stew, Frontier has it all sewn up with Suture.

-Mark Richard-San