Contemporary beat freaks care little for petty genre boundaries. While anachronistic hip-hop heads are busy keeping it real, their more open-minded dance-music partners are spilling over into new, unexplored territory. Tak... more »e Los Angeles's Hive, for example. Hive's first album, the independently released Working with Sound, bridged instrumental trip-hop with casual jazz piano licks. Hive's even more at home on Devious Methods, the follow-up LP. Here, the beats come harder and faster and dip into aggressive ambient sounds and hardstep drum & bass, bringing along some angry guitars and a whole slew of voice-overs for the loud and bumpy ride. Unafraid to road-test new combinations, Hive plants flags for himself as a leading pioneer of the ever-expanding U.S. electronic scene. --Jon Caramanica« less
Contemporary beat freaks care little for petty genre boundaries. While anachronistic hip-hop heads are busy keeping it real, their more open-minded dance-music partners are spilling over into new, unexplored territory. Take Los Angeles's Hive, for example. Hive's first album, the independently released Working with Sound, bridged instrumental trip-hop with casual jazz piano licks. Hive's even more at home on Devious Methods, the follow-up LP. Here, the beats come harder and faster and dip into aggressive ambient sounds and hardstep drum & bass, bringing along some angry guitars and a whole slew of voice-overs for the loud and bumpy ride. Unafraid to road-test new combinations, Hive plants flags for himself as a leading pioneer of the ever-expanding U.S. electronic scene. --Jon Caramanica
CD Reviews
By far one of the best drum n bass albums I have heard.
eSTRANgED | Salt Lake , UT | 07/17/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I purchased this album four months ago after hearing his new mix tape (sick). It has not left my stereo yet. It mixes hip hop and abstract drum n bass together creating by far one of the best drum n bass albums i have heard in the five years that I have been listining to jungle or drum n bass. Anyone will appreciate and enjoy, not just jungle heads......."
The more i listen, the more i like...
Guillaume Tourneur | 04/02/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well I'm sitting here listening to this cd at work and wanted to chime in...this is really a dope cd, for drum n bass fans its a different take on the genre, i would say a truly "american" drum n bass style, very unique! lots of hip hop touches, samples that make you laugh out loud (and think), and a (punk) rock edge as well. The drum tracks could be "heavier", but the whole thing has a coherent "feel" that is truly lacking in 99% of the electronic "albums", i.e. entire cd's by 1 artist usually come up short, a collection of singles at best-whereas this one is solid all the way through. the more i listen the more i appreciate. so buy it then!"
Incredible
Aaron P. Krowne | Blacksburg, VA United States | 10/24/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are into "dark" drum&bass, this is your album. There is incredible variation between the songs, so that the CD as a whole is not monotonous but still has a unified mood. You will not get bored (this is rare for drum&bass artists, but Hive pulls it off beautifully.) The construction of the tracks ranges from breakneck-pace drums to slow and heavy beats. Samples are very well-placed, and a funny, or forboding, complement to the music. Use of synth and guitar samples -- albeit sparingly -- is icing on the cake. You'll listen to it over and over again (I did.)"
A classic from day one
A. Shelton | USA | 08/14/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love this album. I heard it when it came out, and I still play it out 7 years later. I don't know how the kids I was chilling with knew to buy this album back then, but they always rocked out to Ultrasonic Sound. I finally found and bought the album about a year later. That track blew my mind then, and the whole album still does now. It's a thematic, mind-bending experience through both the fierceness and lulling vibes of the drum&bass journey as it should be felt in its entirety. Synthetic Rhythms and all the Moves Within Time tracks are examples of experimental deviations that a thorough EP should consist of. Devious Methods is an all-time favorite track to turn up the bass to...feel it thump, and let your brain dive off into the deep end. All dark d'n'b dj's will be looking up to this album for years as a milestone in turntablism and music history. buy it even if you dont know anything about drum&bass, it will educate you."
The apocalyspse with poetry
Guillaume Tourneur | los angeles, ca United States | 10/12/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This a must ! I have been listening to the best Drum'n Bass, Jungle, Abstract hip-hop,...and this album is a masterpiece. Imagine a "smart" movie about the end of the world and humanity...this is the soundtrack.Very Dark, smart and poetic... !"
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1