Lowfish - "1000 Corrections Per Second" from igloomag

Lowfish - 1000 Corrections Per Second (suction records)

This is the 3rd full length from Gregory DeRocher, the co-founder of Suction Records, who proclaims, in the liner notes, that "the notion of 1000 corrections per second is a concept inspired both by the possibility of extreme quantization, and the amount of times one's mind changes during the creative process." Hmm. Also worth noting from the liner notes are the influences, which are spelled out in alphabetical order for the punters: Autechre (early), Vince Clark, Depeche Mode, etc. In a most-likely-anticipated irony, Lowfish is truly wearing their influences on their sleeve.

There's nothing too new here, but perhaps that is not the point. Listening to the record with nostalgia for the early 80s in mind, the album opens up and becomes a cut-out bin of lost rare grooves, channelling Gary Numan, Neu!, and the above-mentioned artists. Not without its highlights, the album comes off as atmospheric low-fi electro, probably too sedate for the dancefloor, more suited to headphones and G-Force visualizations. "Deadlines and Error," "Fric Frac," and "Air of Supremacy" are the most notable tracks, all sporting catchy melodies and uptempo bpms. The rest, though not bad in any way, seem a little tired, like old jeans - comfortable, but worn out and ready to be replaced by something fresher, more "fashionable," to stretch the metaphor.

There's nothing wrong with being retro, nothing at all, but when listening to an album makes you want to pull out another band's album (like Broadcast make this reviewer grab for some Stereolab, Jellyfish make me reach for Queen), the time that will be spent with the album will be necessarily short-lived. If early 80s synth-pop is your thing, the time has come to live it up retro-style. If you're looking for something new or fresh, there's probably better places to look.