Untold
Black Light Spiral (Hemlock)
18/20
Untold has always pushed things too far. When dubstep didn’t know what it wanted to be anymore, he rustled up Anaconda; a percolating headspin of tribal grime made out of everything. When techno was having its moment of rowdy sexlessness a couple of years ago, he produced a series of EPs so incredibly tense and drawn out that we still aren’t quite aware of how influential they’ve proved to be, simultaneously managing to pre-date both the current jungle and post-punk revivals. And now, while noise is becoming more and more of an excuse and 4×4 kicks are all anyone ever wants, he releases his debut album; a record of uncompromising body music designed to make people feel fully mental.
Opening with waves of sirens tumbling over a primal thud that eventually descend into all- encompassing bass, 5 Wheels manages to sum up Jack Dunning’s latest attempt to fuck the zeitgeist off completely in under five minutes. By the time you reach Ion, the final curve in the spiral, it’s hard to fully comprehend what’s just happened. The tracks become one amorphous blur of mescaline loops and decayed rhythms, held together by the restless ghost of the UK’s illustrious rave past. There are references to the Change In A Dynamic Environment period in the industrial lope of Strange Dreams, the way Drop It On The One builds from almost nothing to system-crushing waves of noise, and the relentless barrage of kicks that make up the majority of Doubles. But that takes nothing away from the fact that this is another incredibly idiosyncratic record from Untold, one that proves his alchemic ability to distill storied influences into something that sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before is still unparalleled.
– – – – – – – – – –
Words: Steve Dores
CONNECT TO CRACK
