various / dc recordings

Death Before Distemper 2: Revenge of the Iron Ferret

A follow up to the original DC Recordings Death Before Distemper release from a couple of years back, this new volume features several artists from the same pack, including Kelpe, The Emperor Machine, Padded Cell and Depth Charge. Kelpe is probably the best known artist on th lien-up, bringing his customary blend of Four Tet hip hop 'tronics and krautrock intensity, while Astral Manhole Project flirt with a kind of organic, motorik disco. In fact, much of this selection succeeds in drawing together electronica and more organic sounding rhythm sections. An especially good example of this comes with Padded Cell's teaming up with Liquid Liquid legend Dennis Young on the funked reggae of 'Beautiful Gloom', or, approaching a similar configuration of sounds from a different angle, The Oscillation's 'Somatone' come across unexpectedly as not unlike a psychedelic retake on early Verve. A compelling, hard to classify compilation from one of the UK electronic scene's most enduring labels.