Intershop (Remastered 2024)

Following a pair of warmly received 12" singles for Kompakt, Dettinger's Intershop -- the Cologne label's first single-artist full-length -- delivers just over 40 minutes of multi-hued down-tempo ambience. Despite the differences from untitled track to untitled track, from the shuffling kineticism of the opener to the ghostly hypnotic tones of the beatless closer, everything has a very 5 a.m., steam-rising-through-the-street-sewer-holes feel to it. Atop the angular warmth of assorted hip-hop beats (plaintive, jumbled, or thoroughly manipulated), Dettinger's spare atmospheric layers are more-or-less unidentifiable: the fourth track could be a minimalist Einsturzende Neubauten remix, using the hollow clang of a lightly struck hubcap and applying dubby production techniques; the fifth's endless tapping is almost eclipsed by a swell of chime-like effects coated with the sound treatment equivalent of cheesecloth. But the disc's eight-minute opener is the track that sticks out most, toying with the listener's perception in the same manner of a Fripp/Eno collaboration, full of implied melodies and gauzy, snake-charming textures. The sheer lack of overindulgence -- it's almost underindulgence, really -- and appreciated brevity gives the album the feel of a good old-fashioned pop record. A great balance between the experimental and accessible, Intershop is as much of a must-have as Kompakt's other CD releases. ~ Andy Kellman