Black Dice - Load Blown

Black Dice
Load Blown
(10.2007, Paw Tracks)
8.5/10

With Load Blown, Black Dice has finally made the full transition into head nodding noise that they started with on Broken Ear Record. This is dance music for the beat disoriented; a record for those who are perennially off beat when bouncing to the rhythm. The music is a service really – Black Dice have mashed together so many grooves of alternate tempos into each track that no matter the rate or pattern you nod your head or shake your hips there is inevitably some line of rhythm within the disharmonic bombast that your motions will align with. Essentially a singles collection culled from three previously released vinyl singles, Load Blown lays track after overwhelming track of awkward booty groovin' madness. Maintaining their penchant for the weird and their status among the New York avant garde underground, Black Dice have still managed to be as accessible as ever. I mean I can listen to Load Blown as easily as M.I.A.'s Kala…well, that's kind of an odd comparison in that it is simultaneously true and false (as in M.I.A. and BD are alternately difficult and easy to listen to in their individual ways). In the end Load Blown is truly a singles affair; easier to digest but also never hitting the risky high points of some of their previous efforts. Still Black Dice hasn’t made a bad album yet and Load Blown is a great entry point for newcomers and a pleasant progression for long time fans.

-Mr. Thistle