Search - Meat Beat Manifesto :: Subliminal Sandwich

Yeah... wooo...

El Reanimator-o | The CO | 12/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I remember back in '96 I saw this CD in a Columbia House catalog and decided to give it a try. I liked the name, what can I say. I bought it, listened to it a few spins, decided I liked it, but that was that. Fast forward a few years, when in high school art class I throw this in my discman and finally start realizing what's going on. This is a lot... murky bass, ephemeral sounds just drifting in the background. Some subterranean hip hop, dub/jungle/toasting cut ups (which would be fully realized during the In Dub CD), organic rusty sounds everywhere. And this is just the first CD. Basically, a culmination of their rougher, earlier sound with the grooves of Satyricon. Top notch.

Then you get to CD two. The night to CD1's day. I can't sum this stuff into words. It's what techno music should have become. It's vicious, entrancing, LONG, rough. Analog squelches and bass are the order here. There's so many moments to choose from here. The spacious, deep space groove of "Mad Bomber/The Woods". The crushing, slow building "The Utterer", the trip hop freakouts of "United Nations, Etc" and "Plexus", and the multiple buildup/breakdowns of "Electric People". I mean, it took me forever to notice the grungy sound that carries the song around 4 minutes in is actually a distorted clarinet solo. It's just filled with little things like that. It's really one of the few electronic CDs around which betray it's electronic roots to come across feeling completely natural. More than a sum of it's parts.

As you can tell, I like CD two the best, but both CDs are completely f***ing awesome. It all depends on your tastes. But, it's a damn good buy and one of the most original CDs I've ever heard."

All over the place

W. Brown | 01/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered MBM after hearing his/their track "Prime Audio Soup" used in "The Matrix." At the time I had the idea of a sort of techno/rave group, and had certain expectations. As one might predict, those were totally swept aside when I heard "Subliminal Sandwich" for the first time. Exploring a new avenue of music, I found it hard to love this collection at first. However, two years later, I gave it another listen and decided differently.

Perhaps my two favorite tracks are "Future Worlds" and "Asbestos Lead Asbestos." The former, a sort of electronica-jazz-fusion cocktail, is nothing less than a fun and groovy listen, with an odd little sample line- "we can design future worlds." Its approach is ominous, with a bassoon bobbing in with a low note before the rhythm begins, but the most enjoyable element is the laid-back guitar soloing.

"Asbestos Lead Asbestos" is not openly hostile, but somewhat sarcastic and cynical in its lyrical message. Dangers offers an opinion of the classes, and it's not terribly nice to the rich. "Equal opportunity, except if our pedigree dogs don't like the smell of your children..." At least I think that's what he says; it's hard to tell, because his pronounciation is very odd. Whatever the case may be, it's obvious that while he's not promoting anarchism, he definitely doesn't like the general shape of society that he sees. The whole song has a very nice tap to it, again more like music played on instruments than arranged on a Mac. This is common throughout most of the album.

Until you get to CD 2, that is. While there are several songs here that fit into the performed category, a good portion of the disc is made up of gradual progressions of sound and melody. "Electric People," for example, makes me think of... well, I don't exactly know, but it's definitely more techno than most of CD 1. It's not hard to see, after you listen to this ensemble, why the experts can't quite figure out just exactly in which genre Jack Dangers fits.

I honestly don't know the industry well enough to say whether this album is influential or not, but I can say that for anyone who is imaginative and enjoys experimental music of any kind, this is something worth checking out."

Meat Beat Manifesto - 'Subliminal Sandwich' (Interscope) 4 1

Mike Reed | USA | 10/25/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Darn good 2-CD techno release. Another one of the many artists out their that I haven't had the time to check out there music lately. I got this title when it first came out. MBM is basically a duo consisting of Jack Dangers-producer and Jonny Stephens-guitar, bass, vocals and programming. Tunes hear I was glad to hear once again were "Nuclear Bomb", "Future Worlds", the thirteen-minute industrial epic "Stereophrenik" and the even slightly lengthier "Electric People". Quite a piece of work here. I'm not even that big of techno fan but 'Subliminal Sandwich' has a lot to offer it's listeners, I thought. Should appeal to fans of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, The Orb, 808 State and Luxt."