- There are moments in Eric Copeland's latest wonky take on 4/4—most notably on the discordant "A1EZOK"—that reminded me of one of the most famous sketches in British comedy history. It's when Morecambe & Wise invite legendary American conductor Andre Previn to help in a performance of Grieg's Piano Concerto. When Morecambe mangles the music to comical proportions, Previn accuses him of playing all the wrong notes. Morecambe grabs Previn by the lapels and says, "I'm playing all the right notes… but not necessarily in the right order."
Copeland's career has been marked by unconventionality ever since he played in the Brooklyn group Black Dice. Here he returns to DFA on his lonesome (Black Dice debuted on the label back in 2002). If you're wedded to the conventions of house and techno, it takes time to rewire your brain for Copeland's work, but persevere and you'll be rewarded. On "SXIXO," a relentless onslaught of cymbal crashes and distorted African rhythms compete for attention with beats that wander absent-mindedly out of step with the main groove. "Ms Pretzel" is like listening to Tom Tom Club jamming with Money Mark at minus 8. The closest Copeland gets to established modes of house music is on the frenetic "Scum Of The Cream"— if you can consider defiantly lo-fi organ-house conventional.
TracklistA1 Ms Pretzel
A2 Sxixo
B1 Scum Of The Cream
B2 A1ezok