August 16, 2010
Techno man goes further into his dark pop alter ego
7 / 10
Better known as US techno producer Audion, when Matthew Dear isn’t creating anthems like ‘Mouth To Mouth’ he pulls on his black leathers and becomes Matthew Dear: enigmatic pop alien. Like its predecessor, ‘Asa Breed’, ‘Black City’ sounds how The Neptunes might were they big fans of Nick Cave, Talking Heads and punishing neon techno. It’s sonically peculiar, coolly melodic, relentlessly detailed and, frequently, exhilarating. Incidentally, if you think that Dear – with his robo-monotonous voice and opaque lyrics – has previously lacked emotional resonance, that he maintains a hard veneer of attitude and style, check lonesome last track, ‘Gem’.
Tony Naylor
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"If you've followed Matthew Dear over the years, then you know he doesn't like to stay in one place for very long. Even as a primarily electronic artist in the early 2000s, Dear hopped from label to label, switched aliases often, and made everything from steely microhouse to harder Detroit..."
"The Oya festival-goer is more than spoilt for choice."
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