| Thavius Beck's Decomposition is yet another challenging genre bending release from Mush, his debut for the label. With this album, Beck vows to explore the concept of death and decay, giving the project a dark twist from the beginning, yet elements of life keep on popping up all the way through. Once a member of loose collective Global Phlowtations, Beck first became known under his Adlib moniker with his 2000 album Save Us. With Decomposition, he takes the concept of dark electronica and industrial hip-hop to new heights, producing an album that is at once intriguing and disturbing. Although the majority of the tracks on here are instrumental, Beck has a way to inject vocal samples into his sonic constructions to give them more substance and accentuate in the process their impact. Combining the clever use of beats of Timbaland with the sharp melodic edge of Boards of Canada, Beck deals with stark industrial soundscapes and dark atmospheric elements, twisting melodies and beats to the extreme to create dense sonic canvases on which he, at times, adds vocals (himself on "Open Your F*@!ing Eyes," Subtitle on "June Gloom," Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala on "Amongst the Shadows," and Longevity on "Demons of Destruction"), or at others just throws in some random vocal samples. Decomposition is based around themes of death and decay, yet Beck also seems to reflect on perversion, either through his sonic landscapes or melodic arrangements. Beats are sliced up, sounds lacerated, vocals filtered and treated, then reassembled with great care to support the atmospheric structure of the record. Building his soundtracks around samples of guitars, pianos and strings, augmented of electronic noises, Thavius weaves hypnotic constructions aimed at establishing his audience. From the onset of "Miasma" to the last moments of "Some Call It the End," the atmosphere is heavy and oppressing. Despite a few lighter moments ("To Make Manifest," which appears at first almost pastoral, or "On the Axis of Misunderstanding"), Beck retains the substance of his soundscapes to the end. With this first album under his name, twenty-four year old Thavius Beck demonstrate an interesting approach to darkcore electronica and hip-hop structures and develops his own sound. - The Milk Factory |
2XLP/Out Of Print