★★★★☆
Bristol’s Tectonic label, the guardians of the dark arts, ancient secrets and sacred skills in dubstep and bass, set up a third upsurge of aftershocks formed by irresistible militia. After fire is opened by a tremendous opening salvo from venomous scheme team Kryptic Minds, Tunnidge and Pinch send in epically brooding Trojan horses, spearheading a collection armed with tenterhooks, tripwires, knife edges and hair triggers. While the force through restraint and meticulousness is admirable, putting the strange and beautiful into the dead of night, you’re thinking it can only be a matter of time before a deserter begins dissenting and blows the whole project open after such a blockbuster hush.
Goth Trad’s “Mach” puts feelers out and begins lock-picking on the rumbles of discontent with a flurry of feet, before the compilation teasingly scurries back into its bunker. Ginz’ synth-scape “Chrome” breaks the silence and drops serious weight, and Om Unit floods the sound barrier with something that can only be described as a serious, er… swooshiness, like the sound of a million window cleaners scraping in time. Illum Sphere, Kevin McPhee and Monky don’t so much break the mould as shapeshift, through deep 4×4 sounds and a jungle-twisting sneak attack from the latter, that still treat the Tectonic riddles as strictly confidential. Steeped in suspense, the third platter is nothing short of 100% quality.
File under: Author, 2562, Jack Sparrow