C.H. District - "Conclusion"

Artist: C.H. District
Album: Conclusion
Year: 2010
Label: Tympanik / M-Tronic
Genre: IDM, Electro
Website: www.chdistrict.com
this release on discogs: here

 

Basics:
I'm not familiar with CH District, but apparently he has a few prior releases on M-Tronic. This is the new album, which appears to be released jointly by Tympanik and M-Tronic.

Good stuff:
+ The albums starts, and glorious IDM that is extremely reminiscent of Tri Repetae appears. In my opinion, that album was such a great representation of "IDM", and anything that sounds like it or conjures up similar atmospheres/mood is also great.

+ The Tri Repetae similarities carry on for most of the album. Does it a sound a bit derivative? Maybe. Is that in any way a bad thing? Definitely not. CH District gets lots of points for making tracks that bring the listener back to the glory days of the style; he writes great, weird, dreamlike synths, beeping melodies, and the old style of Autechre percussion; where the percussion track is repetitive, though dense with many elements making numerous subtle changes. This list of positives may seem short and underwhelming, but man, TRI REPETAE! That comparison should speak for itself.

+ The production is tight. All the elements have a space to sit in and mix well together. Really big, full sound.

Bad stuff:
- the two 1 minute interludes on this album add nothing, and seem to serve nothing more than to increase the track number of an already short album.

- this may be more personal preference, but near the end of the album it takes a turn into electro territory; the apex of which is the track Like a Human featuring vocals from Tomtylor. I hate these vocals; they are choppy in all the wrong ways, and the effects on them are more annoying than beneficial. In my opinion they don't fit with the music at all. I'm not a fan of electro in general, and the last part of the album (tracks 7-9) doesn't keep my attention. I always skip from track 6, Creep, to last track, Go Out.

- length. There are some really good tracks here, but sadly the album is very short. Knocking out the interludes and the couple tracks I really can't stand, there are only 6 songs which clock in at 30 minutes. I understand, and actually prefer, albums with moderate tracklists (7-10 songs), but I just would have liked the tracks here to have been longer and given me more bang for my buck.

Summary:
Despite its short length, Conclusion is an album that you must check out if you are a fan of early Autechre, especially Incunabula and Tri Repetae. If you miss that style of IDM than you will be pleased with this album. It does nothing to displace those landmark albums, but it's a interesting and worthwhile representation of a modern version of that style and sound.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10