Mutantum "EXP2" CD
[Verato Project/Suggestion]
Nine lengthy tracks of experimental ambient electronics from this Finnish project. This disc seems more focused than the last release. The tracks are very flowing and repetitious, but in a good way, and the consistency keeps the atmosphere from breaking up the continuity in most cases. "Sing Away the Blues, White Boy" is one exception, as the track is far more cheesy and annoying with its redundant drones, laughing, and distant spoken vocals, so the first 20+ minutes of the disc cave in as soon as this piece begins. But most of the tracks are made up of subtly musical elements, melodic synths, careful feedback, your usual drones and whirrs, blips and clicks, some field recordings/samples, etc. The blatant use of guitars in "Explosé" is also a stark contrast to the rest of the songs, but it works out very well, with some reverberated delay and reversed effects. The samples of explosions really ruin it when they start in, though - a shame, as the track is exquisite otherwise. The recording is fairly strong. It's immeasurably loud, which is great for an encompassing sound, but there are some peaks of distortion as the levels reach their high points. For the bulk of the material everything is nice and smooth though, so I have few complaints there. The CD-R comes in a standard jewel case with nothing but transparencies used as packaging, so there are basically four levels of imagery and text (including the CD face) overlapping one another. It could look better, but I like it... it does create some interesting effects. My chief complaint with this project is that I don't feel like the work is taken seriously enough. I absolutely hate humor being involved in most any form of music, especially dark ambient, so silly song titles like "See You in Shell" and "Organic Pus", among others, really rub me the wrong way. Tracks like "Surf the Brainwaves" and "Flux Influx" are wonderful, and elements of the other compositions are also highly commendable, so with a more serious attitude this project could be far more intriguing and powerful. (6/10)
Running time - 68:32, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Surf the Brainwaves, Flux Influx]
Mutantum - http://www.uta.fi/~mm56195/mutantum/

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