Peekay Tayloh
Sofa O.D.
(Poeta Negra)
With a name like Sofa O.D. one may think that this release by Peekay Taylor was custom made for lounging. Although some tracks might provide a fairly good soundtrack for sofa surfing, the majority of the disc deals with slightly claustrophobic spaces as haunting washes of sound and cinematic tones swirl around programming and beats that bring to mind Amon Tobin or other members of the Ninja Tune breakbeat squad.
The opener of "I Come From East" is particularly opressive, opening the disc with what sounds like the morphed deep chants of monks and gongs as beats slowly build and rumble around it all, spitting out snares in all directions while only allowing a few lighter tones to breath through. "No Tex" keeps things going in a somewhat similar fashion, busting with some frenetic drum programming while the track swirls with otherworldly sounds. About halfway in, an alto sax comes into the mix, dropping things more firmly into a sweltering jazz setting and pulling everything together.
The programming on the release is actually some of the best I've heard in quite awhile (or at least since Out From Out Where). With so many artists doing hyper-processed rhythm programming, it takes something to stand out these days, and fortunately Taylor manages to do that a fair amount. While there are tracks that are fairly standard sounding (like the orchesta hits and deep bleeps of "New Fear's Eve"), there are also plenty of standouts. "Dawn FM" opens with a warm rush of ambience as windchimes clang smoothly, but eventually the track evolves into a punishing workout of cranked-up reversed drum hits and slinky melodies.
Likewise, "Maori Nanou R" opens with chopped bits of radio static filtered through muffled and broken beats before slowly pulling together into one of the more interesting tracks on the entire release. Musically, it's probably much darker than anything you'd hear on the aforementioned Ninja Tune label (especially the super-creepy opening of "Lev Quaddra"), but if you're a person who enjoys artists that mine the slightly more haunted side of jazzy breakbeats, this one will definitely be up your alley.
Rating: 7.5
