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