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richard devine, "lipswitch"
The downfall of the modern age is that any 19 year old with rich parents and an arsenal of computer software can record an album in their house. But what do these vicious young upstarts really know about melody, composition and structure yet?
Richard D. Vine's current 40-minute EP opens with one of the most overused cliches in the last few years of electronic albums - open with a boring, brooding dark ambient track. More excitement jumps in with the second track but it's entirely too thin and mimics an Aphex or Autechre track tossed to the Windows 98 Recycle Bin. Track three is another quick ambient interlude, big surprise! A 4/4 two-bar intro starts number four and boom — another 1996-era Autechre-influenced tuneless chopped up drum beat predictable as the 6:15 MARTA leaving from Candler Park. Honestly if this kid is the piano prodigy or computer science wizard as the press often describes, then I'm entirely missing the entire point of this record. Okay, so it'll please the 20-nothing girls and the NIN fans who recently discovered Aphex Twink, but I'm not fooled. This 40 minute offering isn't essential, noteworthy nor exciting, the limited sound palette of Devine comes about five years too late to the scene and just reminds me Warp needs to consider the future more so than the past.
 
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