Neo Ouija

Lee Norris, aka Metamatics, makes some of the more enigmatic electronica around. NEO OUIJA, imaginative and imagistic title notwithstanding, is Norris' second examination of art electronique, an intricately programmed array of beguiling ambient textures overlaid with thorny clusters of spongy beats, hushed tones and mysterious, yet exquisite sounds.
The melancholy "So Many Ways" is like a lush paean to forlorn, lovesick robots lamenting the disassembly of one of their own, a symphony of fluttering pings, shuffling, shimmering rhythms, and beautiful, introspective tones. The title track situates drum-and-bass in cloud-cuckoo land, with hissing riffs that might just be Kraftwerk discovering the joys of jungle and sifting those rhythms through their own microprocessors. Also worth searching out is Metamatics brilliant debut album, A METAMATICS PRODUCTION, and Lee Norris' stunning alter-ego Norken, whose SOUL STATIC BUREAU is one of the highlights of the new millennium.|

Another LP of exquisitely produced new-school electro, Neo Ouija balances floating synth effects with detailed percussion work on the high end and fluid bass on the low. Though the atmospherics occasionally let the album down, the highlights here -- including "Escher Escalator," the title track, and the highly melodic "Vanishing Point" -- are stellar examples of the Clear label sound at its peak. [One year after its Japanese release, Neo Ouija also appeared on Britain's Hydrogen Dukebox.] ~ John Bush