(Clown & Sunset)
Mysterious Chilean producer Jaar's extraordinary record Space Is Only Noise was one of 2011's biggest game-changers, an instantly influential turning upside-down of lounge and techno with elements of organic African jazz and musique concrète; full of misleading tricks and audaciously sensual hooks, the album is a must for anyone who missed it, regardless of how you generally feel about electronic music. I continue to feel, as I did in the spring, that its far-reaching effects on the sound of our era of ambient and otherworldly dance music will last longer than those of James Blake's more celebrated debut LP.
This brief digital-only followup EP, just two songs across eleven minutes, is more meandering and vague than anything on the full-length, chopped-up shimmer and snatches of vocals that work well enough as ambience but fail to reward apt attention the way Space did. The title cut is a tense slow burn that slowly gives way to a semblance of the lushness Jaar's earlier music explored; the b-side "Why Don't You Save Me" is less methodical but still oddly unmoving, veering close to annoyance in its glitchy insistence.
If I may spoil a future review, I am enjoying Jaar's guitar-addled side project Darkside much more than this, which feels to me like a half-formed stopgap. But if you liked Space Is Only Noise as much as I did, this does make a peaceful enough supplement.
[SEE ALSO:]
Space Is Only Noise (2011)
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