Black Dice

Repo (Paw Tracks)

Brooklyn’s Black Dice may be inextricably linked to their Animal Collective label heads, but it’s a comparison that serves the experimental trio well. Whereas Animal Collective has softened with pop precision, Black Dice’s fifth studio LP burrows deeper into the electronics toolshed, restlessly rolling between the undefined extremes of Lightning Bolt’s noise attacks and Aphex Twin’s bizarre beats. While Repo jump-starts smooth enough with the skuzzed samples bleating through “Nite Creme,” the infectiously funky warp of “Glazin” gives way to an industrial stomp and grind that begins to unravel into darker territory. “La Cucaracha” unleashes a mind-bending mirage of ungraspable rhythms, while “Lazy TV” devolves into a psychotic blitzkrieg of loops and effects that, coupled with the demented samples of “Buddy,” bleeds into “Ten Inches” of rapid-fire noise barrage. Black Dice leaves little to hold on to for stability, but the vertigo capped by “Ultra Vomit Craze” is an incomparable ride.

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This article appears in April 10 • 2009.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.