Autechre
Oversteps

A great disappointment. An obvious flop. An inconceivable album. This and more is what "Oversteps" is to be considered, to date - if we don't count the EP "Move of Ten," which actually leans more toward a full-length than an EP - the latest album by Autechre. An album where the Manchester duo definitely rediscovers melody (something already hinted at in several moments of the previous "Quaristice") without skimping on playful approaches in the style of "LP5." However, unlike those last two - melodic yes, but also rhythmically imposing - it consequently puts this rhythmic component, an essential strength in Autechre's art, completely aside.

The problem is that this melody seems to lead nowhere, and it is no coincidence that someone, probably a fan, writes, "Autechre lost their souls completely" and I must say that it’s a definition not too far from what Oversteps offers us, an album that not only suddenly becomes more accessible, more pop, more mass appealing but ultimately appears empty, cold, sterile, and evanescent, an anthem to nothingness.

"r ess" opens it all: an abstract drone layer and cosmic synth form the long two-minute intro, followed by a minimal beat in odd times, between IDM, jazz, and minimal wave; it results in a psychedelic track that, in its atmospheric backdrop, recalls the obscured territories of "Confield" - though in decidedly less evocative ways - while rhythmically, the ghost of "Tri Repetae" hovers: however, the result is cold and the inspiration is greatly lacking (a leitmotiv that will repeat several times throughout the album). Again, cryptic intro and underwater drones appear in the first bars of "ilanders", this time backed by a dirtier and harder beat, sharp and nervous synths, electro sequences Gescom style, and fat acid and "Quaristice" basslines, once again focusing on experimentation and the use of innovative sounds - which at least on this outset are not lacking, only to disappear later on - yet the result is still once again a whole lot of nothing in music.

Sounds and experiments that on "known(1)" bring us back to the Autechre we prefer, those that, indeed, rely on experimentation and the introduction of new sounds in the electronic world; it is a very strange, uncategorizable track, without any trace of rhythm at all, one of the few flashes of genius in the work, with a dissonant synth that sounds like a kind of banjo, to which another riff - still with the same pseudo banjo - more melodic and 'Asian' à la "LP5") is added, and a third playful and glitchy synth that dares with intricate timbral modulations in what is a balanced mix between dissonance and melody that, however, lacks a possibly overly drawn-out structure. In the same vein, "pt2ph8", a delicate ambient exploration without rhythm, is based precisely on this balanced mix, through dissonant synths that manage to be melodic at the same time, once again displaying unique Asian reminiscences; however, the experiment is less successful than on "known(1)," and after the chaotic triumphs of recent years, it’s quite strange to hear the duo so tame, grappling with a digital ambient that the last moments of "Quaristice" had already hinted at as a new possible artistic path, but in a much more inspired way.

The start of "qplay" makes us think of a third track in this style, were it not for a convoluted and distorted beat that once again contrasts with the sweet nostalgic melody (which then becomes more and more dissonant) recalling, both rhythmically and melodically, ideas already heard on the "LP5" / "EP7" duo, while the sly melodic acidities bring us back to "Quaristice"; a track that is a great display of technique, although monotonous and with few variations (which is a novelty for them) but quite banal, approaching a not-too-successful mix between the more syrupy releases of Merck and the colder shredder, the one that plays scales, scales, and more scales at the service of the absolute nothingness: definitely not a piece worthy of their fame, as is the case with "see on see", an ambient experiment based on complex pseudo-random FM synth riffs emulating the sound of a carillon, once again with Asian connotations, once again not leaving a mark.

"Treale" is not only the only track to be presented with the usual capital letter, but it is also the pinnacle of the entire album, as if the other tracks in lowercase were dismissible, transient, mocking. The piece boasts visionary Detroit school strings and hip-hop model beats reminiscent of "Envane" that even dare a simple and usual snare hitting on the equally usual 2/4, an almost absolute novelty for a project that has always refrained from using classical rhythmic conventions, but that proves successful, as does the melodic sections, divided between the playful, the dissonant, the melodic, usually generating a contrast - this time with the vaporous Detroit pad and the very anxious vibe of the piece. Once again, however, Autechre don't know how to repeat their feats, and following this little gem are the insipid "os veix3" (a minimal and dissonant passage sounding very machinedrum, with melodic flashes timidly appearing between one kick and another) and the monotonous "O=0" (the usual nervous melody between FM, Asia, "LP5", with anonymous and stripped-down rhythmics), two pieces that, as happens several times in the album, also have the significant shortcoming of dragging on excessively without particular variations (which were in their earlier works their trademark, always providing that sense of continuous evolution / track with its own life).

The more abstract Autechre are found, with a bit of delay, only in the tenth track, "d-sho qub", and although the almost synth-pop (!) initial riff might make you fear the worst, the noisy textures in the background bring to mind the best of Autechre, while the dirty 4/4 beat reminds us of the more recent Clark and his not too successful hybrid between straight techno and fragmented IDM; here, however, the combination works better, with these rhythms that become increasingly complex, while a deluge of digital noises and algorithmic artifacts disturb whatever melodic attempt is made by the melody that also grows increasingly dissonant; very beautiful is the purely noisy part in the middle of the piece, where they try to give their best, though limiting themselves to a worrisome exercise for the standards we recognize in them, also beautiful is the final drone closing, yet even this piece results in a boring experiment without any head or tail, perhaps acceptable and among the best of the entire work, but it would have been effortlessly the weakest track of an "Untilted" or "Confield." The same fate and example await "st epreo" (a convoluted acid-IDM track with a droning back and free jam-style arrangement that greatly hints at "Quaristice"), while "redfall" (mediocre and predictable digital-ambient excursion with sparse drones in the background), "krYlon" and "Yuop" (further moments built solely on brief noisy indulgences and smooth synthetic progressions that lead nowhere except as the archetypal spot for advanced FM synthesis) are the most authoritative voice of what "Oversteps" is, an empty album, monotonous, uninspired.

However, credit must be given to Brown&Booth for some pieces, once again managing to innovate, with sounds and ideas never heard before; unfortunately, these ideas are represented in far fewer numbers than in the past, and the result is what we have just described, an album you'll struggle to listen to a second time, that aims to be more melodic and accessible, but ultimately fails even in its supposed 'easy listening’ goal. Perhaps it is no coincidence that soon after, the two, generally taking long times between one album and the next, release "Move of Ten," presented by them as an EP but actually a sort of album, release far more abstract/rhythmic/detailed/experimental that somewhat takes on the role that "EP7" - also an album masked as an EP in its 60 plus minutes of duration - had for "LP5" (certainly a great album, but decidedly inferior to the latter), that is, completion and development of initial ideas, follow-up, bonus album, outtakes... call it what you will.

But will "Move of Ten" succeed in the same intent?

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