crash recoil.//surgeon

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Surgeon's unblemished 30 year career as a DJ and producer in the industry serves not only to inflate the conception of his latest release as a justifiably post-contemporary collection of sounds that morph and evolve into unrestrictive escapism from its otherwise deterministic endpoint but also to redefine his legacy and reintroduce him as a contemporary artist.

Surgeon speaks quite well about his time spent away from music and his drive to build the Crash Recoil project but one of the most fascinating things about the ambient-style music produced by Anthony Child a.k.a Surgeon on this, his first studio LP in five years, is the way the music defends the phenomenology of the artist, while equally morphing its sound in a manner that generates continued effect. 

Drawing ones oeuvre from a variety of influences is always an honour to observe. What immediately catches ones attention (and what usually navigates ones interest) is the provocative and endearing filtration of synthetic basslines and precise drum sequences. The music takes its rightful place.

Beyond the implied rhetoric that such a convolution of ideas creates for the listener, Crash Recoil is nonetheless stylistically unique. My favourite track on the LP is no doubt the very first track, but the track entitled 'Leadership Contest' provides substantial umph to the inaugural listen.

From Surgeon's Bandcamp profile:

"The tracks carry unique and potent locomotion, with a low-slung grind through toughened terrains, breathing with a free spirit, untethered by a studio-based perspective. We hear manifestations of the same raw material across the album, like a textural motif, carving new variants and creating a cohesive work full of recollection."

Overall - 7/10

1. Oak Bank - 9/10
2. Second Magnitude Stars - 6/10
3. Metal Pig - 5/10
4. We Laugh and Clap at the Circus - 6/10
5. Leadership Contest - 7/10
6. Masks & Archetypes - 6/10
7. Subcultures - 6/10
8. Hope not Hate - 5/10