Skinny Puppy/Download founding member cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton)returns with his 2nd solo outing for Metropolis Records. It seemed tome that much of the first one, 1998's "Music for Cats", was unfinishedleftovers from other projects. This album may very well be the same butit also feels fully realized as a project unto its own. Key plays justabout everything - electronics, drums, guitar, bass, etc. - andcollaborates with many: Justin Bennett (guitar, Professional MurderMusic), K. Tokoi (saxophone), Omar Torres and Kent Clelland of NativeInstruments, Bill Van Rooy (bass), Phil Western (synths,Download/Plateau), Ken Marshall (electronics, Download), all of TheLegendary Pink Dots and recently reunited Puppy compatriot Ogre, amongothers. The shadowy influence of Jamaica is cast over parts of thealbum, from the artwork to the electro dub strains, most notably in theganja haze groove of "Horopter", to the radio banter in "Klora".Saxophone riffs add an unexpectedly welcome flair to "Tatayama". "15thShade" and "A Certain Stuuckey" are likely a precursor of things tocome from the Tear Garden (Key + LPD). Both feature Edward Ka-Spel'scalm and collected, detailed spoken story telling, the former over anaddictive bass line and guitar meandering and the latter over afragmented soup of bass, synth and beats. "Frozen Sky" gives one SPflashbacks - pretty synth sequences, "Process"-era heavy duty guitarchords, vocoded vocals - and, again, is probably a precursor of futurework. The remaining tracks are mostly jittery electronic jams of therecent Download/Plateau mindset. The more Key works with a variety ofothers, the more varied and interesting the results ...
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