Cincinnatian poster-boy and cyberpunk enthusiast AndaruGO
released ‘CONSPIRACY SECTOR’ this weekend. Marking his fourth release, this
concept album based on data collection, the internet and our reliance and willingness
to be involved in both builds on the tomes of LSDJ knowledge from the past
whilst injecting sensibilities of his own. Stripping abstract and ambiguous
conceptual thematics aside however, ‘CONSPIRACY SECTOR’ shines in a scene which
is bloated to the point of eruption with repetitive LSDJ offal.
‘CONSPIRACY SECTOR’ is built around songs without rigid
structures, though that’s not to say they aren’t without direction.
Each track’s constantly shifting harmonies and driving percussion keep everything sounding tight whilst it floats through a wash of motifs and
shoutable anthems. ‘CYBER MINDER’ moves from intense rave phrases into even
more intense trance-esque flurries before finally rearing its head back to spit
out huge melodies and even larger rhythms. ‘LIARS’ meanwhile kicks the
cyberpunk (or datawave) dial to 10, a vestibule of ravaging beats and
lump-in-the-throat melodies before it rolls itself into melancholic bliss.
The percussion also deserves highlighting. The beats at
the helm of ‘DATA DEALERS’ saunter whilst remaining aggressive and on the
opening of ‘DEVILS’ they move from violent groove to an even more violent
furore. ‘MUNGEN’s percussion keep the
pulsating bittersweet space motifs cruising, and lends the release its perfect
closing. The only thing that keeps 'CONSPIRACY SECTOR' held back is the sometimes
disappointing production, which hinder ‘DEVILS’ and ‘DATA DEALERS’ especially. Furthermore,
whilst the freeform structure works in most cases, ‘DATA DEALERS’ feels like it
loses its way; its over-repetitive beats cause it to stutter around the halfway
point and it never recovers. Also, with regards to some of the instruments; it’s
been about 5 years, can LSDJ programmers give those Nullsleep sounds a fucking
rest please?
So; it’s not perfect but it’s pretty damn close. AndaruGO
once again excels on the emotional front; almost every melody reeks of
heartfelt sincerity and connects with more than just a sense of harmony. The
tighter tracks help elevate ‘CONSPIRACY SECTOR’ well above any of his previous
works, and alongside some of the biggest beats to be pushed out of a Gameboy
and melodies lauding the history of chiptune, AndaruGO has excelled beyond his
peers more confidently than ever.
Favourite track: CYBER MINDER
Grab the release for free here.
