Dylan Cameron
Infinite Floor (Holodeck)
Reviewed by Kahron Spearman, Fri., Sept. 16, 2016
Dylan Cameron gives listeners just enough to desire more. Son of celebrated Austin psych veteran Lisa Cameron (Roky Erickson, the Lotions, Glass Eye, Squat Thrust) and an in-house producer for local electro imprint Holodeck, he furthers his forefathers' groundwork with homegrown, digital-age lineage. On the lithe, muscular Infinite Floor, his full-length debut, the cosmic crunch (and semi-deception) of jungle opener "Nebula" serves as a palate cleanser to the nth degree, a nearly audible crossover at an event horizon. Flipped over into dub techno/house/2-step, "Misted Road" delivers night-drive atmospherics over house rhythms and beats. Throughout, Cameron completely eschews a normalized tendency to seamlessly blend everything heard, to make every sound sit just so. Specifically the case on "Difficult Floor" and the title track, Cameron employs hip-hop sensibilities, mashing up instead of intricate layering – similar to Brazilian producer Amon Tobin's lower-key productions. Ready-made for the club ("In Pain") as it marches forward on a bass-thumping sweep ("The Human Condition"), Infinite Floor works an exacting "to-the-pointedness" as it clocks in at roughly 30 minutes. Ethereal heft adds necessary warmth and intimacy.
