Broken MP3 – Vagalume

A very pleasant surprise this. If (okay, like me) you’d more or less acquainted Brazil with Wrecked Machines, then this is definitely worth a sniff… In fact, if you are Wrecked Machines you should give this a sniff, because it’s bloody good and it’s how you could be sounding. What Good opens the album in style, a dreamy break drops into a pumping and up-for-it bassline that goes through about six different incarnations as the track goes on… a theme that recurs through the album. Yes folks, we’re actually looking straight down the barrel of INVENTIVENESS IN FULLON!!! Reason enough to have three words in capital letters, followed by three exclamation marks. A couple of false starts and dancefloor tricks make it what it is – this guy knows what he’s doing, with a hypnotic flow and sense of humour that’s impossible not to love. Formiga Atomica has a more conventional sound to it, with a wobbly midrange acting as the main hook with melodies above and below. It has a nice flow, right up to an enormous breakdown which sparks it up and makes it alive – once again definitely geared to getting the dancefloor moving. Daydream Nation is a feistier, more aggressive affair with a kind of acidic nighttime vibe going through it… once again the breakdown is what it’s all about, a massive peaking crescendo that slides into a gorgeous, warm acidised run. Safi sounds more like a direct take on the Israeli sound, and one thinks he may be having a laugh on this one. The bassline doesn’t let up, the escalation is perfect, there’s loads of little changes and the final run is right up there with the best. Let’s Go is impressive, or more specifically the way the melody sits right at the centre driving it along, without it getting too far into cheddar territory. It’s been quite a while, I think, since something has worked so well in this way – the melody ambles and sort of makes you forget where you are, and with the ground shifting underneath you the overall effect is of melody-driven psytrance that’s genuinely psychedelic. Xz has passion and drive and plenty of sinister energy, driving it up and up to the breakdown which has to be one of the biggest pranks in dance music since Size 9’s I Am Ready – a massive, and I mean MASSIVE escalating noise that sends you slightly loopy before this perfect, adorably-produced bottomend rescues you. Class in a glass. The title track Broken MP3 is another cheeky one, with this trademark tasty sound and morphing bassline trundling along, past a few hiccups and quirks, until the break comes in – delirious sounds, a sample “yes yes yes, you sound like a broken MP3” before it crashes back in… again with production so good it makes you weep. Servus is a pacey, racey number with a midrange that reminds me of Chakra & Edi Mis (this is a good thing). It’s banging, it thunders its way up to a peak and then brings in a sort of electro-ey finale… not what you were expecting. For my money though, the best track on here has to be Flight Number, the closing track which for the first three minutes sounds like it’s going to be the token end-of-album downtempo track and then.. THEN… a massive peak and it drops into fullon 4-4 again, all the more delicious for the intro that preceeded it. And this kind of sums up the album really – it’s good, well-produced fullon psytrance with this undeniable, loveable sense of humour underneath it. Burn In Noise is essentially pissing about, but he’s letting you be aware that this is what he’s doing -- which would make him one of the most fun, lively acts to catch at the festivals this summer.