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Cover Art Amon Tobin
Pirahna Breaks EP
[Ninja Tune]
Rating: 6.7

Well, I guess since I like E and big pants it's up to me to review all of the drum-n-bass artists that come down the pike. I can accept that, though listening to D&B; constantly is definitely starting to perforate my brain with tiny holes that the parasites creep through.

Tobin's follow-up to the simply amazing Bricolage is a four-song, 27-minute quik-fix for the D&B; enthusiast. Tobin's departure from the norms of D&B; (which is, for those of you not following along, electronic drum [fast] and bass [slow]) is in his flourishes. Balancing the dry chatter of spazzed-out drums are lucid moments of impassioned sax, earnestly thwocked bongoes, piano snips, or a chatter of tambourine here and there. It makes for a truly unusual Drum & Bossa sort of sound, surely the result of his Brazilian upbringing.

Piranha Breaks is not overwhelmingly crowded with repetitive loops or heartless drums as is yer average D&B; recording, but the four tracks leave you wanting more. It seems incomplete, somehow. It's a good recording, but you'd definitely be better off purchasing Bricolage unless you own it already and need to fill your perforations with something new.

-James P. Wisdom

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RATING KEY
10.0: Indispensable, classic
9.5-9.9: Spectacular
9.0-9.4: Amazing
8.5-8.9: Exceptional; will likely rank among writer's top ten albums of the year
8.0-8.4: Very good
7.5-7.9: Above average; enjoyable
7.0-7.4: Not brilliant, but nice enough
6.0-6.9: Has its moments, but isn't strong
5.0-5.9: Mediocre; not good, but not awful
4.0-4.9: Just below average; bad outweighs good by just a little bit
3.0-3.9: Definitely below average, but a few redeeming qualities
2.0-2.9: Heard worse, but still pretty bad
1.0-1.9: Awful; not a single pleasant track
0.0-0.9: Breaks new ground for terrible
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