- Greg Beato's production style can be summed up by a note on one of his 12-inch labels: "WARNING! The glitches in 'Let Em Know' are part of the recording, it's not the pressing." It's not exactly comfortable either, hearing little skips and stutters that at first sound blatantly wrong. But this unapologetic spirit is also the appeal of Beato's work, where unholy grit, noise and kicks can still produce something catchy. If anything, his tracks have become looser over time (though the results of this are mixed), and the latest record, a long-coming return to L.I.E.S., puts a dreamier spin on his usual rawness.
LIES084 hits its stride with its more melodic moments. "Haunting" is a house jam lost in thought, with sad synths that stretch longingly over the central arc. Equally soft, "JOJ" features blushed pads and slender acid lines that add delicacy to its lead-footed kick. On "It's A Habit," a fluttering synth offers some light, but the track's flat beat feels routinely mechanical.
Beato is in reckless mode on the rest of the record. The paranoid "Parts 17" rattles with sounds that are thin and bleached dry; "F7" is a drum track that sounds like it was totaled by a semi-truck—there's barely any logic to its wreckage of clangs, hits and distortion. Sure, it could be called a statement that Beato lets the mayhem go on for nearly 10 minutes, but it's not necessarily a clever one. This time, Beato's better off with a subtler soul and sway.
TracklistA1 It's A Habit
A2 Haunting
B1 F7
B2 JOJ
B3 Parts 17