Team Doyobi: The Kphanapic Fragments

Team Doyobi occupies a space of the experimental electronic spectrum somewhere between the eight-bit screech of Dat Politic (with whom they’ve appeared on old Tigerbeat 6 compilations) and the glitch melody variations of Com.A (with whom they’ve appeared on old Fat Cat compilations). Since 2004’s Choose Your Own Adventure the duo, formerly of Leeds, have tightened their sound for greater focus and cohesion without sacrificing any of the eclecticism: rhythm and melody alike waver in constant danger of breaking apart completely, victims of still-fresh DSP trickery and a heavy dose of old-fashioned dissonant arrangement. The album also comes in two parts: the first two tracks span a full 30 minutes of IDM-as-acid-trip ambient noise-noodling, gradually building analog melodies out chaos and letting them fall away again. As a whole its a bit self-indulgent and over-long but still not without assorted charms and intrigues. Fortunately, the second half picks up with a set of more compact, rhythmic, and frequently brilliant pieces like the ricocheting detuned piano of “Goobers”, the distortion-solo techno of “Song of the Metabeast”, and closer “Mostly Harmless”, which sets up and systematically destroys what is likely Doyobi’s solidest groove to date.