Graze - Soft Gamma Repeater

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  • As anyone who was listening during their school physics lessons will know, gamma rays are usually associated with atoms splitting during nuclear fission. Graze, however, are the result of fusion, the melding of Canadian producers Adam Marshall and Christian Andersen's separate backgrounds in techno and bass music. This has been a potent source of energy so far: Graze's work rate has been fairly relentless since the pair first joined forces in Berlin two years ago, a meeting that set off a chain reaction of EPs leading to their album from last year, Edges. While the energy on that album sounded slightly muted—like an engine rumbling beneath the bonnet of the tracks—here it's been cranked up into more of a roar. Marshall and Andersen even allow themselves something of a tear-out with the clattering breakbeats of "Swarz," which inhabits the same grimy warehouse space as Andersen's early drum & bass productions as XI. Boasting a tight stepping intro and a gnarly acid line, it's among the most raucous and overall best things Graze have done. The other tracks aren't so violent, but most still forge full steam ahead. Chords shoot like tracer fire over "Banding"'s fleet-footed house, and the choral washes and foreboding bass of "Circadia" sound almost prog house until the brisk drum programming kicks in, capturing once more the bittersweet mood that prevailed on Edges. On "Antnna," gaseous melodies and sibilant gasps offset the rhythm's rougher textures. Even the beatless closer "Veil (Empty Mix)" sounds taut and tense, more wound up than winding down. It's only on "Uprizen" that Graze falter. Basically one idea rather than a fully-formed track, its looped vocal and staccato beats make it feel like a footwork track but with none of that style's fluidity. A similar sense of stodginess afflicts the overly repetitive "Gneiss." Strip those two tracks away and you're left with two things: the makings of another excellent EP and the reality that Graze haven't quite mastered the album format yet. Their last two 12-inches—MWeapon and Coax / Thundare have shown that Marshall and Andersen are most focused in shorter bursts. That focus occasionally slips here, but when they get it right they burn a very bright trail indeed.
  • Tracklist
      01. Circadia 02. Banding 03. Gneiss 04. Swarz 05. Uprizen 06. Antnna 07. Veil (Empty Mix)
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