French musician
Olivier Lamm's
Snow Party begins with a barrage of glitches, pops, bleeps, and stuttering synthesizers. While hardly accessible to the average rock fan, IDM listeners will find that
o.lamm matches the laptop glitch of
Oval,
Microstoria,
Pita, and
A Musik with ambient textures and acoustic fragments so effectively that he can be classified as producing truly experimental pop. The maddening changes of "I Was a Joker Now I'm Just a Prick" require an entirely different mindset and ear, but once
o.lamm's style becomes naturalized, the dynamic, gurgling sounds offer an entirely new realm, like some underworld Disneyland. Like
Jim O'Rourke's
I'm Happy, and I'm Singing, and a 1,2,3,4,
Snow Party is no easy listen. But with serious engagement and effort from listeners, the album is joyful, playful, and richly rewarding.