North Carolina-based producer
Hanz envisioned his two-part
Plasty series as an audio-visual puzzle, with the musical content as well as the artwork complementing each other. While both EPs are short enough to be released together as a single LP, and are intended to be listened together,
Plasty II works well on its own, and actually sounds better than its sibling. Both releases are inspired by experimental film as well as music, with choppy drum breaks and jarring samples flickering in and out of the mix, ignoring rhythmic conventions as well as logical narratives. As detached and ghostly as both releases are,
II somehow feels a bit tighter and more focused. "The Approach" and "Fifty Yard Stare" both introduce rapidly shredded breakbeats, further set on edge by disturbed conversation snippets and flashes of dark echoes. The more relaxed "Psychic Dog" sits in between them like the eye of a hurricane, with delicate synths carried by a steady drum roll and a female voice calling out "I hear you." "Clutched" starts out as a frenetic cyber-nyahbinghi rhythm with mutilated voices talking about "buying and selling real estate," segueing into a heavy, gritty drumbeat with a layer of more aired-out pads underneath. Falling somewhere between the cosmic freakiness of
Ras G and the cinematic dub of
Pursuit Grooves circa 91 Fellows, with a touch of
Jlin's percussive aggression,
Plasty II is
Hanz's most striking work yet. ~ Paul Simpson