After the New Folder album by Few Nolder, Planet Mu take another sharp left into the realms of rock avantgarde noise that’s sometimes very ambient.

Alan O’Boyle is best known on the electronic scene as Decal (electro, techno, experimental) with David Lacey (a Dublin based drummer/percussionist) who first came to light on the compilation DEAF 7 from the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival that took place October Bank Holiday weekend 2008 with a demo edit of the track called ‘Palace (Dub)’.

Well you’ll be pleased to hear that the full version is on the new album in its entire dark metal dub thud; sort of an instrumental PIL that’s been put through a washing ringer with a sprinkling of ambient space dust.

Think early Pink Floyd with psychedelic love from the industrial wastelands of Northern Europe/Cleveland on a of electronic shoegazing trip with a bit of Hawkwind space synth thrown in.

Other legions of two drum +1 influences that spring to mind that are Death From Above 1979, but not so overtly dance minded and the Kieran Hebden / Steve Reid partnership al la Tongues but you can forget the Dresden Dolls and The Carpenters.

Stand out tracks include ‘Legion Of Two’ and the dreamy ‘Turning Point’ (nice jazzy vibes on this one before it transforms into a bit of a ‘orchestral’ march; it’s not all dark and gloom by a long way). This album is full of imagination and it’s one of those that gets more impressive on every listen; even the gothic ‘for who the bell tolls’ of ‘Handling Noise’ is semi-dubstep if you can imagine such a thing!

As a jazzhead at heart, what would make this album even better would be some free-jazz sax al la Spring Heel Jack with John Tchicai and Evan Parker or even Lol Coxhill (as touched on ‘Handling Noise’) but the hit will be the dub bass dreamscape of ‘It Really Does Take Time’ and the space-drone of ‘Cast Out Your Demons’.

Riffs isn’t about riffs in the traditional rock sense of riffs but in true rock’n’roll fashion, I’m pleased to report that when playing the album I was shouted at with the immortal phrase, “Turn it down!”. Yep, it’s that good!

Reviewed: Legion Of Two - Riffs (Planet Mu) Cat. No: ZIQ234 Release date: 29th June 2009
Tracklisting:
1 (Intro) Starbound (4:35)
2 And Now We Wait (6:08)
3 Palace (Dub) (10:43)
4 Legion Of Two (5:52)
5 Turning Point (6:03)
6 (Interlude) ABC (1:43)
7 Handling Noise (12:54)
8 It Really Does Take Time (7:15)
9 Cast Out Your Demons (10:12)

Links:
www.myspace.com/thelegionoftwo
www.decal-artifacts.com
www.myspace.com/decalaced
www.planet-mu.com
www.myspace.com/childrenofmu