Machines (Custom Quad Edition)＜Gate Fold Vinyl＞

In 2023, Kevin Martin (the Bug) launched a series of instrumental EPs designed as sonic weapons for his parties and live events. Five volumes appeared, and a digital album called Machine picked highlights from the series, then the whole thing was compiled as Machines I-V. If considered a Bug full-length, its the projects first album since the 1997 debut Tapping the Conversation to be fully instrumental, and the first to feature no guests or other musicians. Essentially paring the Bugs sound down to its essence, the tracks generally consist of slow, lurching rhythms laced with bristling distortion. The projects ragga and dancehall influences are vaporized, and the rhythms seethe with a quiet rage. When the tracks have stark beats and swarming bass, they end up sounding closer to Scorn than the Bug. Cuts like "Release (The Need to Escape)" go heavier on dub effects and ambient washes, while others like "Battered (Curse of Addiction)" have more of an industrial crunch to them. "Vertical (Never See You Again)" sneaks in a trace of acid with a lone synth line that feels like a worm crawling through the wreckage of a bombed-out wasteland. "Floored (Point of Impact)" is a bracing collision of metallic pounding, dub pressure, and evil, dive-bombing techstep bass. "Drop (Machine Sex)" throws the listener off guard with its bugged-out, whirring noises. "Inhuman (Let the Machines Do the Talking)" has a scorched bassline that glides upward, along with refreshing, washed-out echoes. "Bodied (Send for the Hearse)" delivers a massive rush of bass that absolutely smothers everything in its path. "Fucka (Tongue as a Weapon)" embraces faster, jumpier beats, resembling drill music played at a dark rave. Machines I-V is the Bug in pure club damage mode, and its as heady and powerful as anything else hes done. ~ Paul Simpson