Demob Happy

Nu-school electro

7/10

Scott Herron’s Prefuse 73 is a combination of Warp-label glitch and instrumental hip hop that has him adored by IDM merchants and headz alike. It is not nearly as abrasive and uncompromising as some writers would lead you to believe, but rather a heady mash up of new-school electro and (largely instrumental) hip hop that employs an arsenal of modern digital effects. There is much that is summery and sweetly melodic on One Word Extinguisher, but most of it has been put through the ringer of digital manipulation. Uprock and Invigorate, a collaboration with likeminded Dabyre, is a swaggering saunter complete with jazzy keyboards, squelching bass and cooing vocal snippets. ’90% Of My Mind is With You’ is the closest thing to a break-up song as you can get from filtered electronica, ending with a medley (or is it montage?) of lovelorn soul/Motown samples. ‘Why I love You’ sounds like a Beyoncé record stripped of the lead vocals and remixed by Boom Bip, while ‘Choking You’ again displays Herron’s melancholic side. There is much else of note also, but like many hip-hop records this could do with some editing down, being as it is about 5 tracks too many, with a number of ‘head-nodders’ sounding overly alike. Nevertheless, an important artist reaching his peak.