Liminal. This is the predominate feeling I get from, Black Acid, a minimalist, industrial techno-inspired electronic EP.
Percussive elements come together and evolve without fully grooving, as if listening to the first few introductory bars of a techno track. There's a feeling of constant anticipation for something that never arrives. It reminds me of the music of 9STATIONDISSOLVE in this way. At first, I felt skeptical of the execution, but before the first track ended I had already added it to my wishlist.
The second track, the titular track of the album, is the closest to traditional techno. It has the thumping kick drum and what feels like three quarters of a typical techno bassline. There's a mechanical feeling to it that makes me think of robots working at an old fashioned steam powered factory.
This transitions to Suppressed Woodlands, the most ambient and liminal of the four tracks. Static. Crashing. Hissing. Crushing. A metronomic ticking. The track consists of a sequence of sounds without the musical glue one might expect. The silence in between is given form as perhaps the leading instrument. It feels tense and unnatural. I'm reminded of the weirder segments from Earthbound.
The final track, Stutter, listed as a bonus track, has a melodic component absent from the rest of the album. The result is a feeling of place, like stepping out into a foreign land.
Coming in at about 20 minutes, this album is definitely worth your time if the above description sounded intriguing. I'll be looking out for them in the future.