| Music Reviews |
|
Lusine
– Serial Hodgepodge Were there a competition for the most aptly titled CD of ‘04, Lusine’s Serial Hodgepodge would definitely make it into the running. The latest offering from the DJ otherwise known as Jeff McIlwain spans a range of contemporary electronic styles, integrating dreamy ambience, cinematic downbeat, and minimal microhouse into, well, a hodgepodge of largely chilled-out electronica. Serial Hodgepodge runs the risk of sounding like a genre sampler, a fact that couldn’t have been overlooked given the name of the disc, but nonetheless is able to maintain a thread of consistency that makes for a mood-filled yet cerebral listen. “Ask You” begins the disc with low key ethereal vocal chorusing that quickly gives way to bass heavy down-tempo interspersed with a smidgen of glitch, kicking off an evocative rollercoaster of atmosphere that carries throughout the disc. Things remain laid-back even in the disc’s fastest moments, never approaching a pop hook. From the restrained beat of “Falling In” to the wistful heave of “Still Frame,” Lusine finds consistency in a musical paradigm built around slow growing repetition and the layering of slight, minimal variations. Serial Hodgepodge is much more clearly geared towards establishing an ambiance than moving a dance floor, but doesn’t necessarily always create that ambiance with the utmost subtly. “Everything Under The Sun,” for instance, comes off a bit heavy handedly as chilled-out make-out music that would work well as the soundtrack for a hot late night show on Cinemax. For the most part, though, fans of this specific brand of electronic intricacy will fully enjoy both the disc’s drawn out moments of minimal twiddling and squelching and its lush ambient undertones. Not necessarily constructed as music that sits at the forefront of one’s mind, Lusine’s Serial Hodgepodge works more fully on the background of one’s brain, crafting sophisticated and stylish moods that sometimes surge, sometimes shudder, and generally manage to intrigue. —Matthew Stern |
|
 |
COLUMNS INTERVIEW |
| MUSIC
-
Interviews MUSIC
-
Reviews MOVIES |
PLUS: |
