Gravity Bastards dont 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 (Dont 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.