Autechre

Untilted

★★★★½

In my mind, Autechre has always been one of the hardest nuts to crack when it comes to electronic music, or more specifically "IDM". In a world of Aphex Twin's smear of pop infused dance hits such as "Windowlicker" and "Flim", or Boards of Canada's nostalgia intertwined with hip hop beats; there's little room for the avant and stark atmosphere that boldly stands out and pushes you away in Autechre's music. I think their first couple of albums could have actually fit snugly into a niche that was yet to be fulfilled in the electronic music scene of the time. But Sean and Rob are not ones to stick to what's tried and true; they've been experimenting constantly. Reforming and reshaping everything Autechre is and will be, much to the disappointment or excitement of fans. For the majority, I think there's a defining line between the albums before Confield and the ones after. While Confield was and is experimental beyond anything that came before it, Autechre didn't keep themselves at that level of abstraction. Instead they concentrated it into the album Draft 7.30. And from there I am led into Untilted. I join the ranks of all those who believed the title was "untitled" which would've been coy and unoriginal. Yet Autchre is VERY tilted here, and there's nothing solid or linear about this album.

Autechre manages to fit a lot of their history and musical ideas in these sixty nine minutes. At times it can be as fluid as anything Autechre has put out thus far, at other times it can be composed of blocky cubic structural beats that mash through all else. I've heard both sides of the argument; one claims that Untilted is cold and lifeless, while another insists that it's organic and animate. I believe it to be a seamless marriage of both, a cyborg project that advances everything Autechre has achieved so far. The shifting narrative was present already in Draft 7.30 but it wasn't fully fleshed out, there were very present melodies and a certain grabbing ability that nearly every track possessed. This album takes that concept to the extreme, destroying the sense of solid "beats". Maybe an exception to this would be the first track, "LCC", which slows and speeds up the beat patterns. There's an underlying synth wave that washes over you towards the last third of the track and makes it the most emotionally charged song here. Then you get that extremist view immediately after. The next three songs showcase an almost cybernetic percussive free jazz form that I haven't heard anywhere else. "Ipacial Section" has drowned out vocals that squeeze through the rest of the skitter scattering, changing their shape entirely. I've found that many of these songs in general are great to listen to with headphones, and even at their most quiet they provide a whole world of textures and terrain. 

The next set of three, "lera", "Fermium", and "The Trees" all showcase the spontaneity and vital activity present in Autechre's music. An aspect that many are quick to criticize. These three songs seem a bit more anxious in general, like they're searching for something to just help them survive. "lera" consists of an insect hive engulfing entire mounds of earth and consuming everything in its path, extremely vivacious and alive. "The Trees" is also a really unique and jittery piece that is one to remember in Autechre's vast discography. It's dark landscape that is very subtle but encompasses all. It's like looking out into a dark, dense forest while stopped on the highway. You know what it's made of and what's in between the trees, but yet it carries a heaviness and fear that is impossible to ignore. "Fermium" really is another progressive track that begins quite positively, but changes into a dragged out variation of each aspect until it becomes impossible to recognize. It turns into a white noise of every sound that once existed; mirrors facing mirrors into infinity. The only thing left to face is the behemoth closing track.

"Sublimit" is the longest Autechre track I can remember, and one of the most impressive too. For a solid sixteen minutes Autechre channels everything that they've accomplished so far and spits it right out in all directions. There’s elements of early Autechre funk that was abundant on the album Incunabula. All bases are covered throughout this excursion and by this time I let the music take over; I just sat back and took everything in. The funkiness with the electro synths are really a welcome throwback to an era that was basically forgotten by many long term or new Autechre fans. The bleeps and bloops generate a humid and damp cave environment that is about to erupt in a great flood from within. There’s murmuring voices and the bangs of rocks into the cold stone floor, but there’s a great buzzing going on. Like everything just rapidly disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye. But when it returns it’s not quite the same. A little distorted and a little tilted (I’m sorry for that one). This really isn’t a starting point for anyone who wants to dive deep into the electric minefield that is Autechre. I continue to believe that chronological order is the way to go for them, otherwise you’d miss out on the scope of their progression. Another aspect that caught my eye was the album cover of this album and the one prior. This seems much more two dimensional and flat while the music really contradicts that assumption. And vice versa for the previous. It really takes time to comprehend Autechre’s music and I really hope to take this one in as much as possible. 

Favorite Song: Sublimit