Alec Empire & El-P

Shards of Pol Pottery (DHR)
by Lex Marburger

First off, I was pleasantly surprised at the beats coming off this EP. I usually expect Alec Empire to set a drum machine to its fastest tempo and distort the hell out of it before chanting anarchic lyrics into a shitty mic. Well, Shards of Pol Pottery has a complex beat, still edgy and driving, of course, but something that seems to have taken thought to create. He still babbles incessantly, though. But what I like, selfishly, is that this one-song remixed EP actually breaks down the track piece by piece, giving just the drum track, then just the drum and bass track, then just the “odd background sounds” track, then just the vocal track, all before putting it together in a concussive assault. Why do I like that? So I can steal his beats, of course!
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