CD Review: Ways and Means - Microphone Fiend (Reel Me Records)
Words by Leo Cloeson
Boasting over 70 releases in the
electro-bass music genre, Ways & Means are one of the most prolific artists
currently writing new material. Constantly working on their sound and honing
with each new album and EP, Microphone
Fiend is clearly the work ethic of an energetic group.
That energy carries over into the music,
a mixture of electronica, break beat, hip hop and what they call ‘Tech Funk’ or
‘Glitch Hop,’ a layered cornucopia of sound over ever present electro-rhythms.
In a sense, Microphone Fiend is a release of two halves, with half of the
tracks clearly more from the hip-hop school of thought, and the other based on
pure electronica. The force and energy of the rap based tracks are impressive,
while the electronic side is more minimal and all the more effective for it.
It would be interesting to hear a full
album which stuck to either one or the other – a full collection of truly hip
hop or a truly electro epic full length. As it is though, Ways and Means are a hard working act that’re merely dipping their
toes into their chosen genres, and Microphone Fiend is an album that shows great promise of things to come.
Grade: B
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