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Sure, he's great at using a 909, but he's already progressed past the music he's made with Closer, and much of the time it feels like falling back on old habit for lack of new ideas.
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What's new? High pitch frequencies; cell phone samples; the vocoded & pitched-down techno-poetry; a clean aesthetic from DE9 era running roughshod over a dark palette; and the fact that it sounds utterly different to his previous material, despite the references.
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It's only when the vocals kick in that this trip seems to be getting a little too long.
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FilterUltimately pretends to be more adventurous than it really is. [#8, p.107]
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The WireCloser works best instrumentally, as a sonic depiction of the mind, as a dark voyage into inner space. [#236, p.64]
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Stylus MagazineReview 1: Ultimately, Closer doesnt disappoint and represents a legitimate fifth installment in the Plastikman series, in spite of the fact that it breaks little new ground beyond its predecessors. [score=75]; Review 2: Hawtin [is] firmly again in the leagues with the masters of the genre. [score=81]
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Closer's metallic tracks couldn't be more stripped-down, but they make good on minimalism's aim to command space without necessarily occupying it.
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Given the right frame of mind, Closer has the potential to be the most powerful Plastikman album -- an alternatingly cathartic and mind-wrenching place to lose yourself in.
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UrbThe self-reflective vocals... are an insightful change, while the slow-boiling builds on "Mind In Rewind" will simply make you want to buy your 303 back off eBay. [Nov 2003, p.87]
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It's an unrelenting trip, and while Hawtin's much trumpeted spoken-word vocalisations veer perilously close to self-parody at times, 'Closer' is a stunning re-affirmation of an uncompromising musical vision.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 3 out of 4
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Mixed: 1 out of 4
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Negative: 0 out of 4
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TySOct 30, 2003