Minimal techno can't usually be described as "fun." At its best, it may be rhythmically compelling (though not usually "funky"), and its practitioners may wield texture in subtly interesting ways. But all too often it is simply chilly and soulless, all of its eggs placed in the single basket of trebly 909 beats, simplistic basslines, and static chord progressions. There's something different about Marjorie Migliaccio (aka
Bloody Mary)'s full-length debut, though -- maybe it's the fact that her music can't really be entirely classified as minimal techno; maybe it's just a certain native intelligence and a deep-seated concern for the pleasure of those on the dancefloor. While
Black Pearl isn't exactly a non-stop party, there is very definitely a streak of hedonism that emerges, almost alchemically, from the way in which she stirs up a bare minimum of musical ingredients. Notice, for example, the juxtaposition of slightly creepy vocals and thrumming harmonium chords on "Sed Non Satiata" (featuring singer
Argenis Brito), or the way the album's title track builds up from nearly nothing into a cool but richly bubbling concoction of rhythmic layers, or the even better
Jay Haze remix of the same track. Like much music of its general style, this is undeniably German dance music -- but unlike much music of its general style, it is also undeniably dance music. ~ Rick Anderson