- The name Power Vacuum calls to mind "powerviolence," an extreme strain of hardcore punk, which isn't far off from the sound of Milo Smee's label. Everything on Power Vacuum has been hard and direct, especially Smee's own productions as Bintus. Dipping in and out of acid over his two releases so far, the best bits have been when he's at his steel-toed-stomping hardest. That's the route he takes on Live* & Locked, a fast-and-furious LP of live jams that get right to the point.
The drums on the record are mixed so loud they could have been sampled from a metal band, a distinct thump that you feel right in your gut. "Stellar Drain" opens with brutally fast rhythms and a screeching melody that sounds like it's being forced out. Most of the tracks are based on this formula of pounding percussion and simple melodic accents, like the bleepy synths on "Paracelsus Beat." Unlike a lot of dance music where pads and chords are timed with the beat, here they spurt and splatter seemingly at random—it's that "live" feeling again.
That being said, "Toyota Henge" comes about as close to traditional techno as Bintus ever has, hurtling forward like a lost Planetary Assault Systems demo. "Cylinder Bop," arguably the record's best tune, sees him taking a more electro tack, loading the tracky beat with frantic UR-style arpeggios.
Though Live* & Locked could have made for a blistering 27-minute workout, Bintus pulls back for the record's two closing tracks. "Basket Case" feels like a tossed-off hip-hop beat, while "Des L'Ambience" is just an uninspired limp to the finish line. It's usually commendable for an artist to bring in some variety like this, but on Live* & Locked, Bintus falls short of the mark. Still, five out of seven ain't bad.
Tracklist01. Stellar Drain
02. Paracelsus Beat 2
03. Cylinder-bop
04. Giza Plateaux
05. Toyota Henge
06. Basket Case
07. Des L'ambiance