Chemistry Lessons Volume 1

Carter has created a complete work that simultaneously looks back over its shoulder and glares straight into the eye of the future. [Apr 2018, p.50]

Layered and smeared and cut up into melodies, the vocals chant and enchant, and at times it’s difficult to tell what’s what. ... For a little over an hour, the past and future spin, dissolving in fields full of chatterboxes. It’s a world not unlike the present one.

The 67-minute album features 25 remarkably accessible tracks.

Many of these 25 short pieces are rich in layered melody and texture, and full of primary coloured sonics. [May 2018, p.94]

An atmospheric masterclass. [May 2018, p.104]

Chemistry Lessons Volume 1 is a record that offers an overture of the history of electronic music, something that Carter has helped shape. In this instance the artist explores all the different aspects of this sound, presenting an overarching work and condensing these in short forms. The process works perfectly and the movements from the dark, minimal realm of "Ars Vetus" all the way to the dance moments of the opening track, via the noir-esque labyrinth of "Modularity" and the sci-fi induced movements of "Lab Test", does not seize to amaze.

Their elastic moods are endlessly absorbing, typified by the almost weightless "Cernubicua" and the grinding, Malevolent buzz of "Inkstain." [May 2018, p.27]

If the album doesn't always hit the same highs as the excellent Mondo Beat or Trance LPs, there's still plenty to love: the bending techno synth waves on "Modularity," the slowed-down Nitzer Ebb flashbacks on "Post Industrial," and the krautrock computer glitches on "Noise Floor."

Overall, Chemistry Lessons is more in line with Carter's late-'90s solo albums or his expansive soundscapes as part of CTI than the aggressive experimentation of Throbbing Gristle or darkwave synth pop of Chris & Cosey, but it maintains a distinct character and immediacy which set it apart.