Neptune - Msg Rcvd (Vinyl LP, CD)

Neptune are a band I’ve always got a bit of time for. Sometimes their recordings can be pretty hard work, but I like the way they operate. These guys play crazy instruments they’ve built themselves to create their otherworldly, clanky, minimal noise-rock, the kind of repetitive neanderthal scree you might also hear from the likes of Shit & Shine or Sightings.

As far as they go, this CD is in fact one of their more accessible, with slow and drawn out oddball hypno gems like the impressively Can-ish ‘Dark Report’ really pushing the right buttons with me. It’s got that modern post-dub spaciousness paired with lo-fi noisy minimalist compositions for an ethereal, otherworldly ride. In fact generally throughout this record they seem to have toned down the clankiness in favour of a hypnotic, slow-moving sound with lots of electronic processing and the like, although there are still moments like the super Oxes-esque econo-groover RPR where they certainly touch base with their skronkier roots.

Clinton and I are now discussing how much ‘Negative Reversal’ resembles a messed up dystopian take on ‘Like I Love You’ by Justin Timberlake (this is a good thing), which turns into a grinding repeato-groover later on...and then we realised that the JT track had been produced by the Neptunes...and this is by Neptune! More than a coincidence? *Strokes robot chin pensively.*