Eight tracks of mostly-instrumental playful beats and breaks, occasionally with a high-bit chiptune flavor to them. Some circus-like flavor leaks in at times, thanks to the jaunty rhythms and high-pitched peeping, which makes for an odd mix with the more heavily hip-hop-styled portions. Generally entertaining, but the lightness of it all makes it feel unfortunately low-budget, without much fleshing out of the song ideas, or balance between the high and low ends.
Over the course of the six songs on this EP, Saskrotch turns out fast-paced chiptune breaks, with pulsing bass, tinny snare loops, chattering beats, and bloopy synths. “Beats of Rage” brings in a guest (or sampled) rapper, which puts a fairly large twist on the usual Saskrotch dynamic, but also brings higher energy and tightness than any of the other tracks, though “I’m the Fucking King of Chipbreak” gives it good competition with its bursts of almost Venetian Snares-y break jumps. “I Guess You Didn’t See The Irony Of Our Situation” provides a nice midpoint breather of mellowness, before ramping back up to a lower high for the last two songs, and a return to rap sampling in the closing title track. All together, enjoyable, but outside of “Beats of Rage”, nothing that really stands out as unusual for the artist.
On the debut EP from the Argentinian band of Narcoiris, the group puts forth a blend of heavy rock with bluesy psychedelic leanings, letting the strength of their grooves carry most of the songs. Tasty string tones and a good amount of interplay between the musicians strengthen the experience, but despite running just six songs long, the music starts feeling somewhat repetitive about halfway through the set. There’s enough little twists to help keep it from feeling like a drag (and moments like the injection of cello-sounding strings in “Remoto” shows the band wanting to expand their flavors), and as a first release, there’s some stumbles to be expected, so on the whole it’s not too bad, just a little undercooked.
Scrambled Brains 