Spacetime Continuum
Realtime EP
[Astralwerks]
Rating: 3.6
When humans throw themselves into the ring
with a machine and struggle with it to create a remotely relatable
sound, they can either come out conquering Ali or succumbing to the
blows of Nintendo's "Super Punch-Out" star Gabby Jay. At its best, new techno can
be brilliant, making machines practically seem human-- whether it's Aphex
Twin's strange sense of humor or the Propellerheads' posturing.
At its worst, it stands as self- mockery-- an aural throwback to the
days of analog home video game systems. And Spacetime Continuum takes
Pole Position in the latter.
With both feet grounded firmly in Atari Audioland, Spacetime Continuum
chooses to use the simple instruments-- the 808, the drum machine, the
Casio. Ever tried getting something even remotely modern- sounding out of
your old Casio's selection of drum patches? Sorry-- it was primitive even
in 1984, and retro is not cool among fans of electronic music. Sure, it's
charming that everything this guy knows he learned from Jan Hammer, but
as a musical society, we're past "The Theme From 'Miami Vice.'"
Granted, there redeeming qualities sporadically placed throughout Realtime
(the French rap in "Neoteric" is nice), but Spacetime doesn't provide
enough humanity to hold the listener's interest, and as quick as this guy's 1-2
digital uppercut is, it's all one can do to remain vertical while trying to
dance to this stuff.
-David Day