Gravity Bastards don’t believe in

overwhelming their listeners with pages of liner

notes. Their latest album, Newtons Law,

contains only the names of the 17 (!!!) mostly

instrumental techno tracks and the name “Norbert

D. Fisher Jr.,” who, I assume, is the mastermind,

or the lone orchestrator, behind the band.

Sadly missing from the documentation is a list

of the software and/or synthesizers used to

create this onslaught of palpable 80s retro

sounds. These sounds include chirpy analog synth

mixed with industrial guitar (“Dangerous Break”),

guttural bass noises (“Under And Above”), the

classic 70s ping sound of what my siblings and I

called “The Popcorn Song” featured on “The Bozo

Show” (“Don’t Wake Up The Machine”), the squeaky

sounds of rubber bands and chewing on rubber

bands (“Sky Train”), metallic robot factories run

by robots (“Open Your Head-Jack”) and analog

squiggles (“Road Trip To Nowhere”).

The instrumentals have elements of dance and

industrial but are mostly heavy on classic

techno. Many of the songs are comprised of

multiple parts, shifting dramatically throughout,

making them interesting to listen to but not so

great for dancing. Other tracks seemingly lack

any beat at all, such as the first half of “Road

Trip,” where a very solid cello sound patch is

reworked to sound like shimmering whale sounds,

calming the mind and soothing the soul. In

contrast, “D.S.S.” is a very danceable song with

a macarena-like melody, one of the few outright

melodies on the album. The other instance is “Say

Wow,” an outright hip-hop song with such lyrics

as “Everybody put yer hands up.” In all, the

flurry of sounds assault your senses and make for

a very pleasing A.D.D. listen.

Sounding almost like an Information Society

without vocals, Newtons Law is a shoe-in

for fans of analog 80s techno. With over 55

minutes of manic music there is something for

almost every type of electronica fan. Available

at the Clinton and South Anthony Wooden Nickel

stores.