We may be living in a golden age of avant-garde electronica. Hot on the heels of thrilling releases from Nils Frahm, Björk and Jon Hopkins, Oneohtrix Point Never has put out his ninth studio album. ‘Age of’ is a devastating soundscape of spectral stems, merging extraordinary tonal variety with immediate and engaging production.
We open with the title track; a churning melange of hit and plucked strings sequenced alongside synth swells that twist and snap. Portamento (tone bending) is applied to busy baroque harpsichord, and gives the piece a Japanese quality that is dense, unnerving and strangely hypnotic.
Incredibly bold in its conception and delivery, it is an alarm siren that should signal consistent thrills. If only things were so simple. With such creativity, there is also waste. Black Snow, The Station and Babylon all contain tubular auto-tuned vocals which jar next to such meticulous, washy elements.
Autotune is a bit like an obnoxious drunk at a bad party - good to get things moving around 9pm, but by midnight you just wish they’d shut up and fuck off.
As such, only Same really delivers out of the vocal-led compositions. This song is like a Depeche Mode ditty that was discovered and remixed by Arca as a kind of industrial overture. It's stunning music making: fabulous sound.
Elsewhere, Warning places a staggered synth patch alongside Rick Wakeman-esque keyboard runs and crunchy, atonal distortion courtesy of New York electro-noise producer, Prurient. It’s busy, anarchic and ever so slightly exhausting, and by the time we get to RayCats, one feels slightly relieved that the end is in sight.
This track is a patient tonal journey which once again utilises far eastern elements. Subtly incorporating pentatonic modes, it’s an unwontedly spare track on an album that is often gloriously overloaded. It represents a composer in full flight; constantly innovating and exploring.
Oneohtrix Point Never Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
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