Record Reviews

DJ Accucrack

Sorted (Emagine)

Lazing through an Austin summer, with a typical complement of house-grooved park parties, venued rave events, and the general laid-back chill that comes from living in a place with ridiculously high temperatures and a highly evolved electronica scene, it's easy to forget there's still a hard-core audience for the darker side of the musical technopolis. Daft Punk may be ruling the dance floor this season, but Jason Novak and Jamie Duffy of Austin's DJ Accucrack aren't throwing in their black shades and ominous, spare beats in favor of more bouncy fare. On Sorted, the former members of industrial techno act Acumen Nation whip up a dark, throbbing anti-party that mixes skittery breakbeats ("Red Star Alien Race") with bleak, ambient sounds ("Unsorted") and the occasional track straight out of Jack Dangers' garage ("Chicks Dig Acid"). Comparisons to Meat Beat Manifesto are obvious, especially on the shuddery "Chicks," but what's more interesting is Novak and Duffy corralling Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia of Curve for a couple of guest spots ("So to Speak," "Chicks"). Accucrack's darkwave punch runs counter to the current wave of upbeat electronoise flooding the 12-inch bins, but its one step forward, two steps back industrial bent plays more like a pre-Y2K Atomic Cafe dance party than anything you're likely to pick up these days. File under Death to Ravers.