Listening Tree - Tim Exile Album Review

Tim Exile - Image: www.timexile.com
Tim Exile
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Album Review

Exile has been recording for co-electro-conspirators, Planet-Mu, for some time now so it is only natural for a man of his jagged-electronica-drillstep calibre to ink a deal with Sheffield's finest techno-no fear label and unleash a mind-munching brace of tracks called "Listening Tree". Pitching in somewhere between Venetian Snares, Pivot, Depeche Mode, Sweet Exorcist, Heaven 17 and Isan, Exile has constructed a live set centred around machines that never quite take him over yet have certainly taken over a few audiences around Europe over the past couple of years. Add in an almost operatic vocal line and chunky-knit beats and you have yet another unique Warp release that will elevate the affable German into year-end album lists.

Obvious highlights are the title track and "Pay Tomorrow", the latter of which is almost a comment on our banal credit-led existence. Off-kilter skittering blades of glitch and malformed vocal layers spike throughout this album and it takes just a spot of patience to suckle on the joys within. Only the closing track wanders off into self-indulgence but then isn't that what music is all about? Gigs will be announced soon - Queen Elizabeth Hall in April (as part of Ether) is confirmed however.

Paul Pledger

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