KEY POINTS:
PITCH BLACK
Rude Mechanicals (Remote/The Label)
Verdict: Ten years together and still producing quality.
Herald rating * * * *
EPSILON-BLUE
Are We There Yet? (Rawhiti Recordings)
Verdict: Best dance party album in the world ever?
Herald rating * * * *
SHAPESHIFTER
Live (Truetone)
Verdict: Live symphonic drum'n'bass from New
Zealand's finest.
Herald rating * * * *
Pitch Black are getting into the colonic irrigation business and the electronica duo, made up of Paddy Free and Mike Hodgson, are looking for people to experiment on. So, if you're up for a good clean out then the galvanised heaviness of Sonic Colonic, from their fourth album Rude Mechanicals, should do the trick.
It's one of those tracks that syringes your ears at the start, then the tremulous dub massages your brain, and eventually Pitch Black's unique head-bobbing groove pushes its way into every cell of your body.
Sonic Colonic and album highlight, Bird Soul, with a meandering opening that gives way to glitchy break beats and shards of squelchy sound, shows how powerful and propulsive Pitch Black's music can be. But then there's the beautiful - almost static - flipside to their sound as on opener South Of the Line and Fragile Ladders, like a dark arcing eclipse of noise.
It's odd to compare Pitch Black to Crowded House but just as every Crowdies album is pretty solid, it's also safe to say Rude Mechanicals is another solid Pitch Black album. It's a hypnotic experience with grooves driving the songs along, ambient intensity as a backdrop and the all-important dubby vibe at the core.
Ever since they created 1999's Future Proof - a landmark album in New Zealand because it broke electronica to the masses - they've produced nothing but quality and this is another stomper.
Epsilon-Blue's latest and final album runs the risk of sounding dated. As with previous releases this epic 27-track double album harks back to the days when acts like the Orb and Future Sound of London ruled the lush grassy fields and loved-up dancefloors of dance party heaven.
But be warned, because Epsilon-Blue (aka Dunedin-based electronic musician Leyton) also ventures into cheesier house music territory with high-camp tracks like Music Called Me In. But it's a double album and there's something for everyone, so what are you worried about?
Are We There Yet?, which features 10 different vocalists, lures you in and sets you off on a course of discovery that will keep you up all night. It's like starting out with a barbecue and beers in the afternoon (on My House Or Yours or the delicious Theme From Spank); then treating yourself to a few cheeky tequilas (My Rocket Eats Yours and the escalating Concord Dawn-styled When the Road Runs Out) and finishing off with bacon, eggs and coffee at sunrise with Autumn Light.
These days when much of dance music is mass produced and crass it's a pleasant change to hear beautiful, enlivening and real beats created as if it's still an art form. Plus, follow the instructions inside the album and you can download other versions of the songs from the internet.
And rounding out a fine set of dance floor and summer-friendly local releases is Shapeshifter's live album recorded last year with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
The Christchurch based drum'n'bass band are one of the country's most popular live acts - two sold-out shows in Auckland this week are proof - and this six-song live set offers versions of songs from their three albums, most notably the rolling Tapestry off first album Real Time.
While it could be longer, and purists might scoff at the orchestra's involvement, the result is a great night out at the drum'n'bass symphony.