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Scorn, "Governor"
The prospect of new material from Mick Harris's project mightn't get hearts racing as it would have done a few years ago, but this EP of four mixes from 'Plan-B,' and two exclusive tracks show a real return to form. Whenever I hear a new Scorn release, I always hope he'll have added some new twist or surprise, and for once he's showing some interest in moving away from his established style.Hymen
The dub influences have been slowly edged out since his move to Hymen Records, leaving just the the slow-motion, lumbering hip-hop beats and abstract bass rumbles. Thankfully though, he hasn't lost his knack for getting your head pounding, and as the first few crunchy beats of "Hedrake" lurched into existence, I stopped caring whether he has re-invented himself; okay, it's nothing he hasn't done a thousand times before, but after years of honing his approach, he's getting it down to a fine art. His ultra-minimal, stripped-down sound gets a little drab on two of the 'beat mix' remixes, being little more than mildly engaging drum tracks and looped fragments. It's the remaining three tracks on 'Governor,' though, which elevate it above his recent work. The more abstract, masterful "Collections" focuses more on the eerie texture and unsettling ambience. The added dimension makes a world of difference, and more of this standard would see him re-established as the master of this genre.
The closing two remixes are entirely un-Scorn-like, and are a real breath of fresh air, with a marked move away from the pounding beats towards a fresh, less immediate exploraion of eerie abstractions. The first is a brief, looped and stretched piano loop, while the second is a superb, energetic Somatic Responses mix of "The Snow Hill." Each confirm that future Scorn releases are something to get excited about again.
 
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