- Living, breathing techno with a twist of industrial from Anthony Parasole.
- While he can bust out barreling, loopy techno with the best of 'em behind the decks, there's always been something a little different about the productions Anthony Parasole lays onto wax. Berghain on the streets, Mute Records in the sheets. (Forgive me.) It might have something to do with the scene he came up around, a tri-state area sprawl that blended tough techno with deep house and dub. Case in point: the '90s rap-inspired My Block, one of the coolest EPs ever released on the now-defunct Ostgut Ton. Still, there's something even more intriguing about HEADRUSH, Parasole's first release as FULL EFX. It's '90s in a different way, taking influence from the thick, rounded textures of industrial bands like Ministry and Skinny Puppy at their commercial peak, as well as the grumbly experimental beats of Scorn and Techno Animal. It's strikingly bright, often colourful, though still darkly-hued, like walking down a neon-lit entertainment district in the pitch black of night with sunglasses on.
The most striking thing about HEADRUSH is how organic and alive these tracks feel. These are no mere loops. Take "For A Second," which features a descending motif that cuts through the rhythm like pumice stone exfoliating skin. The track jiggles and wobbles, a mass of flesh only barely holding its shape as it stumbles through its six-minute run time. And "Friends," another highlight, forms hook after hook out of its garbled vocal samples, which are strung together in different, R&B-influenced phrases, like if early '10s Scuba made his music in the depths of a sewer.
HEADRUSH is full of vocals. Some sing, some bark, some barely make a humanoid noise at all. "No Love" is an easy standout and the most industrial of these tracks, and it's also refreshingly slow. Much like Adam X and Maedon's recent album, "No Love" captures both the heft and the creepy crawl of '90s industrial techno, instead of whizzing by at heart-stopping speeds. It's loose and limber, a feeling that comes out even more on "Skytel Pager," which I might describe as disco vaporwave. The drums are slowed down, the basslines are gloopy, and it's loaded with ghostly strings and what sounds like a cowbell. Halloween at the Paradise Garage.
2022 has been a year of excellent techno albums, of LPs that work on a whole because of consistency and careful sequencing, without having to step outside the genre. These kind of records are a rare breed, but Headrest is yet another. Packing its tracks with hooks and varying moods and textures—the macho swagger of "Stel Sharpens Iron" following the psychedelic wash of "Take Flight" is brilliant—Parasole pulls together all the things that make his music unique into something that almost feels like a caricature, but coheres into one idiosyncratic package. It's fierce but doesn't take itself too seriously, it's gruff without being threatening. The artists Parasole grew up with knew this balance, and he continues their legacy here, an album of techno that expands the genre to its logical ends: rhythmic, musical and catchy all at once.
Tracklist01. Head Rush
02. Colorforms
03. For A Second
04. No Love
05. Light Bright
06. Friends
07. Skytel Pager
08. Take Flight
09. Steel Sharpens Iron
10. Scared To Death