From Bed To Couch [Slipcase]

acopo Carreras' full-length debut is the kind of electronic album that doesn't sound monumental or distinct on first blush, but reveals its qualities with re-listens. Touching on forebears ranging from Nine Inch Nails -- "Rox Tox" could almost be a B-side from The Downward Spiral -- to '70s Brian Eno with "Schi-Is" and its twinkly, woozy feeling, seemingly perfect as a soundtrack to the further adventures of Wall E, From Bed to Couch lives up to its title on the one hand -- it has the sense of a great at-home recording -- while not ignoring actual dancing possibilities. When Carreras lets his freak flag fully fly, the results can be a chaotic but wonderful melange -- "Gentle Touch" isn't a completely ironic title, but everything from classic electro brutalism to messy guitar feedback slamming up against an acid pulse goes into the song and comes up trumps, an effect repeated but happily not simply replicated later on "Il Vuoto Non E." His more understated side comes out on songs like "One Sentence," where he's not quite creating lo-fi dance but it's not far off, with its treated, distanced vocals and understated zone-pop sensibility. Perhaps appropriately, nearly everything comes back together with the concluding "Anarko-F," feeling like a classic early-'90s Depeche Mode remix (right down to the guitar!) while still retaining a strange, moody uneasiness. ~ Ned Raggett|