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Album Reviews
Album Review: Various Artists – Thisisnotanexit Manifesto #1 (Thisisnotanexit)
By Marc Samuels | Published on Wednesday 3 February 2010
Thisisnotanexit have unobtrusively been carving a niche for themselves as purveyors of frequently brilliant music sharing a singular aesthetic (a kind of Balearic open-mindedness combined with a love of fearless sonic adventures) that, by accident or design, has positioned the new label as a kind of fantastic covert operation waiting to be discovered.
Primarily dealing in electronic odysseys (aside from the raw post-punkiness of Detachments, whose ‘Fear No Fear’ – featured here on a mixed second CD – is one of the most incendiary debut singles of recent times), ‘Manifesto #1′ is a compilation, but, more than that, it’s a statement of intent, a list of instructions and a dossier of clues to a secret society (in the best spirit of Factory Records).
So, we have insistent, experimental post-rave ambience (Brain Machine, Professor Genius) alongside Eno-esque throbbing beatless minimalism (Naum Gabo, Spectral Empire), before more dancefloor-friendly fare arrives, in the shape of Pink Stallone, Night Plane and Moscow, with their dreamy takes on cosmic nu disco. Parallels’ ‘Ultralight’, meanwhile, is simply a delicious slice of synthed-up strobe-lit Euro-pop.
The artist names, of course, divest no pointers to the creators’ provenance or status. (Are they duos, groups, or sole operatives?) The mystery is all part of the appeal, but as long as TINAE keep releasing remarkable music united by both a progressive mentality and terse single-mindedness, I’m happy to remain enlightened whilst in the dark. MS
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