REVIEW: Plastikman, Consumed (NovaMute)
- Simon Speichert
This album is as close you can get to an electronic concept album as possible. Richie Hawtin, the mastermind controlling Plastikman, astounds the listener with a different style than he has employed previously. Past Plastikman albums have been more "dancable", but Consumed seems to be a mixture of ambient and trance.
Listening to Consumed is like being - well - consumed by some large beast. During "Contain", the beast corners you. In "Consume", you are swallowed. "Passage [in]" gives the illusion of travelling down an esophagus. The four songs whilst you are inside the stomach of this great beast, "Cor Ten", "Convulse [sic]", "Ekko", and "Converge", are the most disturbing, with sparse melody and kickdrums like heartbeats. "Locomotion" starts and you begin travelling down the intestines, being digested. Then, you are "In Side", and you are totally "Consumed" by the beast and its music. The title track is the most astounding, as Hawtin layers the components of his musical madness to envelope the listener. Then, finally, "Passage [out]" sends you back out into the world.
You may think I'm crazy, but this is truly what this album sounds like. It is a work of genius. Pick it up, and you'll hear what I'm talking about. Listen late at night with headphones.
