Deadbeat

Montreal’s static glitch dub fanatic Deadbeat returns with his second album. The opener, "A Brief Explanation…” is an introduction to the ambient click-y fuzz that blankets most of the album, and while it’s always a good idea to have a linking theme or concept throughout an album to make the listener feel at home, it’s not such a good idea to make it sound like a detuned radio. As it is in the foreground most of the time it forces the listener to strain against it to hear the other elements in the song, which is unfortunate because Deadbeat’s morphing of dub into its more base qualities is worth hearing. This aside, "White Out” stands out in part because the fuzz is backgrounded for most of it while he breaks dub into its elements and introduces a house melody line and clear glitch-y sonics and rhythms. FYI: The album is apparently a record of the three-quarters of a year leading up to his marriage last year, but that seems to be one of those details that’s more relevant to the composer than to the listener.