aaamusic | On 12, Feb 2012

Israeli duo Rendevouz have a new album out on Rough Trade Records, Another Round Please. It is the biggest commitment to electro music to surface in quite some time: giving a nod to everything from Swedish club dance to Kraftwerk, the record sails through this genre in all its different expressions. Opener C Sharp is an uninterrupted synthetic trip, with the same beats looping relentlessly for over 6 minutes. A slightly more mysterious edge is given to Egypt, which aims to capture the oriental haze with voluptuous keyboards and the first appearance of the drum machine. Things get a bit more fun with Prisoner no 251, a bass-revolving trance which could easily soundtrack a spy movie. The loop goes on, clocking in at 5.59. One minor problem lies here… these opuses tend to stretch for longer than necessary, and one gets the feeling they would have had a much stronger impact if they’d been slightly restrained. This is still the case of tracks like Adagio for Tiesto, an ambitious string-laden epic, which comes across as tiring despite its varied and journey-like feel. Single The Murf is just the right size, on the other hand, and delivers all the electro psychedelia, with Rendevouz’s distinctive oriental feel, that we need.

This record combines the film-like atmospheres of danger and excitement, feeling like an effortless ride from sweaty clubs to doomed scenarios. Closer End of the World perhaps best embodies this, as the war-stricken conditions the album was recorded in make themselves apparent, while still retaining the cinematic pathos which characterizes Another Round Please. All in all this album deserves praise for the ambition and fearless devotion to the genre it demonstrates, proving to be unique of its time.

 

Chiara Amoretti