Autechre - Confield (2001), 6/10

The cold and distant sounds found in Confield result in a sometimes enrapturing and sometimes alienating album. It was, however, entirely successful in its aim to experiment with jagged and chaotic textures and structures while still providing an entertaining set of tracks. The album sounds like a completely alien experience unfounded in anything done before in electronic music. The seemingly random sequences and passages are not random, confirmed by Booth, and create an intentional set of shapes and angles. The sound is precise, and its textures are unique enough to create a rare and uncommon atmosphere of esoteric feeling. Two tracks stand out in creating this sensation in “Pen Expers” and “Eidetic Casein” although the record as a project is remarkably consistent in crafting haunting melodies occupying a space between intangible and memorably fine. The duo sometimes cross the threshold into chaos but these are some of the most enjoyable moments of the album in contrast to a regular repetition of already-built themes. This makes it a novel-sounding project compared to Amber or Tri repetae despite its superiority being highly subjective and debatable. If nothing else Confield dares to exist in a rarely explored mode of feeling and has an exceptionally brave commitment to testing the theoretical and practical limits of modern electronic music.