Lazer Sword: Memory 2LP

It’s been 2 years since Lazer Sword’s first album, and it sounds like the SF-based duo has really grown into their own. Memory is Lando Kal and Low Limit’s sophomore effort (released on Modeselektor’s Monkeytown imprint), and has a much more mature and serious sound than anything they’ve previously put out. Taking a hint from the cover art, which seems like an homage to Cybotron’s Enter, it would seem these dudes are going deep into the roots of techno and electro, with a healthy helping of bass. Personally I think it is a welcome shift in focus from the glitch-hop wobble to something much more subsstantial. Check the industrial strength electro on “Pleasure Zone,” or “Point Of Return,” the heavy ghetto tech pressure of “Missed A Spot,” of the forward riddims of “Better From U” and “CHSEN” with Machine Drum. Impressive work for the headphones and the warehouse. Recommended.

• music label: Monkeytown 2012

reviewed by snackmaster 05/2012