Search - Tim Exile :: Listening Tree

Truly insane and utterly compelling.

S. Fry | my hizzy | 04/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tim's latest effort has not left my CD player for a couple weeks now. I've been a fan of his work since his "pro agonist" release on the excellent Planet Mu label, and have been looking forward to this release for a while. Upon first listen, the record is just indescribable. This will probably not resonate well with many listeners unfortunately, because with repeated listens is where the album really begins to shine (and erupt like hot magma). At this point I can say that this album is simply amazing. It's completely original, I've never heard anything quite like it and I've been a fan of the electronic genre for over 15 thousand years. It has a blistering intensity throughout the span of the album, never letting up until the end, chock full of madness and mayhem and what pop music might sound like had Dave Gahan collaborated with Aphex and Squarepusher over recording sessions under the influence of lsd, ayahuasca, and watching one too many operas over at Plaid's house. In other words, just what the doctor ordered. The recording is excellent, and Tim's mastery behind his machines is really becoming evident, especially if you get the chance to see this cat live. Filthy, disgusting, polished, melodic, textured, unrelenting, this is not the album you want to have on while you're getting your sexytime on with the hot chick you just pulled at the bar. Or maybe it is, if so, then you know she's a keeper. Well done Tim."

Bringing virtuosity back

David M. Madden | salt lake, utah United States | 05/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(Note: listen to the sound clips as you read this)



When I was ten, I made enough allowance to buy one album a month (at this time, it was Duran Duran, Styx, Rush, Devo etc.) And I listened to it, all of it, because, well, I only owned ten albums - and, really, I wanted to get my money's worth. Now, I own enough music that I could listen for fifty days straight and not repeat a single song. Generally, I have the patience to listen to two or three tracks a few times until I'm ready to find something else to whet my appetite.



However, by my iTunes count, I've repeated each track on listening tree between 10 and 23 times over the course of the last week. Why? Because there is so much depth to this record, and I can't catch everything from a single listen - I'm addicted. The virtuosic song-writing, endless sound palette, nostalgic tip to Alan Wilder-era Depeche Mode orchestration, the fantastic other-worldly Gary Numanesque lyrics (mingled with neo-political jabs), the amazing - and seamless - genre-hopping "style" and Exile's (nee Shaw) ability to craft organic works from mechanized building blocks make this an album I might actually call life-changing (as opposed to my usual "favorites" that end up being a flavor of the week after a few days).

"