Released
1999
Label
Possessive Blindfold
Recordings
Reviewed by
Matt Simpson
Visit
Visit
GRIDLOCK
Last Edit/Update
29 June, 1999
Gridlock
"tHe sYntheticFoRm"
Track Listing
1. From Zero
2. Ash
3. Sever
4. Without
5. Further
6. Here
7. Sound
8. Cramp
9. Scrape
10. To One
11. Enzyme (Re-mixed by Dryft)
12. Ash (EPW Mix)
Gridlock is Mike Wells and Cadoo. Based in San Francisco, Gridlock have been building up a
cult following based on the strength of their demo tapes and live performances. Now,
releasing their dedut album, they are already being considered the most original
electro-industrial act to be spawned in the USA in the last five years. Industrial Nation
compared them to "haujobb meets numb". Gridlock are an unstoppable musical force
who will change the course of the electro-industrial genre. (Pendragon Site)
***
Editor's note: We have beaten Maui and forced him to elaborate. Should
he ever do that again, we will string him up and force him to listen to "Kyria and
Simon's poetry". That's a promise, elfkin boy :P ***
Ouch..OK, OK, I'll finish. Well, yes. This CD is quite orgasmic. The
latest release from thee masters of power noize/electro, Gridlock, has whet my appetite
from the first time I saw the ad in Isolation Tank. Amid a few delays, this
sophomore release on Pendragon Records does not disappoint.
Rumors were flying (well, at least on IRC) that this CD was watered
down and that Gridlock had basically gone pansy from their earlier CD, The Synthetik
Form (an equally orgasmic experience). I eagerly awaited the follow up to that CD. Here it
is, and I'm quite happy. The rumors have proven [to me] to be false, as the sound that
defined The Synthetik Form (read: REALLY powerful noise percussion amid dreamscape pads
and harmonics) is in full throttle on this release.
I'll have to say, as much as I fell for The Synthetik Form, I found
some of it to be kind of bland..I mean, there wasn't enough variety in the songs to me.
This CD has gone a step further while maintaining a VERY positive feeling of semblance. I
mean, this CD really flows. The tracks just float on into each other with the ethereal
pads and dreamscape samples blurring the endings and beginnings of the tracks. Thankfully,
there's also more electronic variations and differences to fully please the pallette.
Also, I think the boys of Gridlock grew bigger balls, as the grit and power have
increased, especially in track 4. This
is nuts cool.
Fans of Gridlock will be UBER-pleased as this continues the Gridlock
sound and develops it even further. This won't win over any critics of the first CD,
though. Gridlock has a DEFINITE sound that I find absolutely riveting, with all the
impolite and massive percussion and the trancelike pads and harmonies that define the
background..it's hard to describe the feeling other than pure dark and powerful emotion.
I'll finish up with my opening statement: This CD is orgasmic.
