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Album Reviews
Album Review: Planetary Assault Systems – Temporary Suspension (Ostgut Ton)
By Paul Vig | Published on Monday 29 June 2009
Planetary Assault Systems is the moniker for producer Luke Slater’s harder electronic work, a guise he usually only pulls out for the benefit of real techno purists. It’s hard to believe, but Slater has been on the scene for two decades now, and “wanted to bring the intensity back” with this LP, released on the label run by the Berghain Club, the Berlin venue where he has been a resident for some time. From the opening track ‘Open Up’ he flies us straight into his techno vision, and with hard bleeps and dark undercurrents, it’s promising. Further on, ‘Whoodoo’ exhibits shades of Steve Rachmad’s early work, whilst ‘Hold It’ is a tough track with a shard of the Bucketheadz ‘Bomb’ about it, with its hypnotic beat and funky bleeps. The pounding of ‘X Speaks To X’, meanwhile, is a good one for peak time techno dancefloors. Sadly, there are a number of low points on here, too. ‘Enter Action’ is merely passable, ‘Attack of the Mutant Camels’ is simply hard techno without a hint of soul. ‘Gateway to Minia’ slows down the tempo somewhat, and overdoses on acrid effects which sound somewhat like clashing light-sabres. The title track builds, but doesn’t ever fully erupt, though it has a likeable menacing feel, while ‘Sticker Men’ bashes along well with its warping chime/klaxon. This album is formulaic, dark, brooding and unrelenting at times, and ultimately Slater hasn’t failed in his mission to deliver a quality LP to the purists; but then, I wouldn’t have expected anything less from this man and his production skills. PV
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