Album Review

Boys Noize – Super Acid

• 28th Jan 2011

Alex Ridha aka Boys Noize is ace, this is basically undeniable fact. Whether its the many superb acts signed to his Boys Noize records, his own music or his collaborations with Erol Alkan, he’s been a mainstay of the best club nights and my own iPod over the last few years. So a new acid-tech-house (note: according to the press release this is a proper genre, although I’m not entirely sure what it means) album compiled by Boys Noize and featuring the absolute cream of his best mates should = 100% win, yes? First off a disclaimer: I’ll confess I didn’t review this record in the normal way (sit, listen, stroke chin appreciatively on occasion) but rather blasted it on a Saturday evening while getting ready with a can of Fosters in one hand and several tshirt/ belt combinations in the other. In my eyes, if it doesn’t pass muster as a bedroom dancing companion then it’s not up to scratch.

ANYWAY…. ‘Boys Noize Presents Super Acid’ starts off with a contribution from Ridha himself. ‘1010’ is a decent enough tech workout, although clearly only an introductory track that sets itself as prologue to an album that never truly materializes. With every song written specifically for this collection either with an authentic Roland-TB 303 or using a 303 emulator / iPad app, after about 3 tracks the album has settled into a familiar sound and rhythm. Although there are some obvious highlights, these self-imposed limitations end up hindering the majority of the talent here and rendering their efforts fairly forgettable – even Siriusmo, who can usually be relied upon to produce something fantastically weird makes a fairly neutered (by his standards) contribution in the cut-and-paste ‘I Love My Voice’.

Perhaps one problem is that, as a collection of 11 separate tracks rather than one continuous mix, the album is a bit of a stop-start affair with tracks taking a while to get going and then fading out. There’s a reason that last year’s ‘Further’ is the best album of the Chemical Brothers’ career – it GETS that a dance record needs to be seamless, and although there can be peaks and troughs throughout, the energy needs to be maintained, something that ‘Super Acid’ fails to do. Another problem is that ‘Super Acid’ is not a record for the tech / acid novice. With very few changes of pace and tone (and get this: almost NO WORDS. what am I supposed to sing along to?*) this isn’t the most accessible record – for that you’d be better off checking out one of Ridha’s own releases or his Bugged Out mix.

Although nothing here really stands up to its contributors’ finest work ‘Super Acid’ isn’t a bad record and it still has some great moments. Joakim & Krikor’s ‘Azid’ does a fine line in insistent bass with a superbly low-bottomed drop. Meanwhile the foursome of Brodinski, Djedtronic, Noob & Harvard Bass team up for the supremely menacing ‘Extreme Compote’. Feadz’ skittery house track ‘11% Acid’ is another highlight while Djedtronic pops up again to wind down the set with ‘Uranus’ a more considered, gentler-paced conclusion.

If you’re a bedroom DJ then ‘Super Acid’ is probably worth the expense, being a collection of 11 unmixed, mostly previously-unreleased tracks (and anyone who doesn’t own BN / Erol Alkan’s ‘Death Suite’ by now should really know better). For the more casual Boys Noize / tech-house fan picking this up, the songs will be a nice surprise when they pop individually up on shuffle. But listened to as a whole it didn’t exactly make me want to throw on a pair of JLS boots and head out for a productive night of grabbing, and ultimately, isn’t that what a Boys Noize record should be about?

(*this bit is a joke before any tech-head nerds start screwing at me)