Casino Versus Japan – Whole Numbers Plays the Basics 7.5

Eric Kowalski sort of nailed it with this one. Rather than decide to engage in the nearly pointless drum programming happening around the same time, he felt a better use of his efforts would be just making sweet songs with pounding beats.

You’d be hard pressed to call this “Dance Music” since it couldn’t exactly be expected to help anyone get up on the floor. Instead, you’re left with either songs that move too fast (Summer Clip) or go too slow (Aquarium).

“Summer Clip” is him at his best. Easily the highlight of the whole album, there’s multiple melodies multiplying off of each other, like early Autechre. Comparing this to Boards of Canada would be wrong, however. Unlike Tycho which has much more a blatant rip-off vibe, Casino Versus Japan is able to distinguish himself from a lot of the IDM. For one, the music doesn’t sound stale later (keep in mind this was released in 2002, during my last music addiction phase).

The short vignettes are probably why a BOC comparison gets brought up. Rather than keep them as interludes, shorts like “Moonlupe” and the beautiful closer “Trad Velecido” are fully fledged songs. It is a bit of a shame that this Wisconsin native never much more of this wonderful stuff.

Tycho – Sunrise Projector 3.0

Tycho makes nostalgic tunes using analog equipment and Boards of Canada albums. Honestly, I wish I could say this was dramatically different from Boards of Canada’s material, but it isn’t. Instead of trying to create a new identity, Tycho instead felt like latching off of this giant group of musicians who dealt with type of music. Sure, other musicians got accused of Boards of Canada impersonations (like Casino Versus Japan) but those others could claim to unique aspects in their personality.

Not so with Tycho.  Each song sounds like another artists’ idea, re-appropriated for his use. I tried to look for a highlight or hook to prove to me that this wasn’t true, that I was just hearing things. Upon multiple listens, I learned this was the equivalent of IDM wallpaper. Lacking any soul of its own, it failed to leave any lasting impression on me besides the fact that it sounded “tasteful”.

Music like this worries me. Bands are allowed to be influenced by others, but I didn’t see any value in what Tycho did. There’s nothing new added here, I really can’t think of staler music than this. All I can say is that the production values are crystal clear.Listening to this is like eating confectioner sugar: it is sweet but proves no nourishment whatsoever.