OK, so the members of
Bleep come across as a little weird. Igor Olejar and Robyn Sellman appear on the cover of this album in dour Mennonite garb -- perhaps as an ironic commentary on the high-tech nature of their music, but no one's breaking a smile in any of these photos, so it's hard to be sure whether the joke is intentional. But then there's the music itself, which is also a little weird at times, but only in the best way. Sellman and Olejar cite
Cocteau Twins,
Aphex Twin,
My Bloody Valentine, and
Lush as influences, and it's not hard to hear elements of all those artists in their sound, but the result is quite unique: an invigorating mishmash of drum'n'bass, synth pop, electro-funk, and glitchy electronica that operates on several different sonic levels. "Over" and "Looster" are both anxious and fidgety, hinting at impending chaos, while "Wovel" juxtaposes Sellman's lovely singing and talking (hopefully she doesn't think of it as rapping) with nicely crafted, dubbed-out electro-funk. "Euphoria" is brilliant and aptly titled, and "Last Breath" makes exceptionally intelligent use of choral vocal samples and glitchy breakbeats. As good as these highlight tracks are, they're only marginally better than most of the other material on this consistently very fine album. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson