Talon Slalom

This solo outing from Blectum From Blechdom's Blevin Blectum takes some getting used to, but will reward the ears of experimental techno and bizarro electro fans. Built as a single work/performance piece in 19 sections, Talon Slalom takes the quirkiness, lo-fi electronics, and attitude of the duo and puts them into a more serious frame of sound collage. Blectum builds walloping beats out of digital and analog electronics, but rhythm is not the key here. What grabs the attention is her collages, her hastiness to move to something else as soon as a mood has been established. Detuned loops, blabbering voices, and backward sounds are piled up to form kaleidoscopic pieces. It makes the album sound like radical avant electro-pop, something like Laurie Anderson on speed -- and it works well. Things get confusing toward the end as the listener struggles to make sense of it all, but the first half of the album is pretty good, with the tracks "Rockitship Long Light Years (Version 2)" and "The Way the Cookie Crumbles Straight From the Horse's Mouth" standing out. In the second half things get weirder as the samples, breaks, and overlays clash ("Merry Sxms to All" has widely contrasting tracks fighting for the spotlight). Talon Slalom would make a stronger impact if it were 15 minutes shorter. The CD also comprises an enhanced portion with a five-minute excerpt of the film that accompanies the live performances of this music.