S/W

Following Second Woman's excellent eponymous debut, the duo released an EP containing two non-album tracks as well as remixes by footwork visionary Jlin and Greek dub techno veteran Fluxion. Their choice of remixers says a lot about the inspirations behind the project, as their music is jittery and aggressive yet also spacious and resonant. Their second full-length S/W is another complex, mind-bending set of audio sculptures which isolate and transform elements of various types of club music. The duo's sputtering beats defy conventional logic, yet there's still a loose structure to their staggered roller coaster rhythms. The beats are metallic yet liquid, dripping in sporadic intervals but still having a punch to them. Thunderclouds of dub echo increase the intensity, particularly on the bracing "//." The Roly Porter-like "///" is an electrical storm of droning static punctuated by quivering beats and harsh bursts of light. "////" builds a fractured footwork rhythm and spikes it with intense glitch explosions. "////¥¥" is a bit more rhythmically straightforward, with a consistent beat which seems to dissolve into mist. There's even a calm, sensual techno bassline purring away underneath. "////¥¥¥" starts out as an unhinged footwork transmogrification, but becomes a bit more stripped-back and pensive during its second half. "////¥¥¥¥" is the opposite, building up from rainfall-like thumping to a thicker, tenser atmosphere, gaining shards of ticking hi-hats which form a consistent rhythm even as it feels like it's about to disintegrate. As synthetic as Second Woman's soundscapes are, there's still something about them that seems to mirror the spontaneity of life and nature, and their tracks, while chaotic, slowly reveal themselves and make a strange sort of sense. S/W is another serious head trip from Second Woman, who further push their technological impulses into fascinating new territories. ~ Paul Simpson