"Filed firmly under `Techno', Force + Form does not make for good ambient listening. It comes on like steam-train; the beats bang and shigger like a good `un, demanding and rewarding active listening. For those who are not familiar with Surgeon's music, hooks and melodies are used sparingly, acting more as atmospheres to enhance the shifting rhythmic patterns that are the centrepiece of the music. Those looking for the soul of the Surgeon's music are taken down long stark, austere corridors and beatscapes. Exercize your intellectual, analytical capabilities. Force + Form is the sound of mathematics - the noise algebra would make given access to samplers and what have you. Mr. Child himself - as Surgeon is known to his accountant, no doubt - has always expressed an interest in making music that is as conceptual as it is physical, beats for the head as well as the feet. And indeed, armchair enthusiasts and clubbers alike will find plenty to get their teeth into in this Surgeon's third offering. This is not a record that pretends to be groundbreaking or "important" in any way, but nevertheless the sound of a man who knows what he's doing and clearly enjoying every minute if it. Aural algebra, anyone?"
Relentless and powerful!
Alex Hardy | 02/20/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I agree with Matt Mercer when he said that it isn't anything really new or exciting but the pure power and technical strength of the Surgeon's form on this release is breathtaking. It drills a hole straight into your noggin' and then some."
SURGEON
kirusha | BROOKLYN, NY United States | 02/15/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This album is his weakest. Still good, but comparing to balance or basic***** or communications, it doesn't hold. Get it only if you are a collector."
Great stuff from one of techno's true innovators
Alex Hardy | San Diego, CA USA | 07/26/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This disc surely shows Surgeon's most accessible side. Rather than the twisted ambient tracks and disassociating metallic loops found on basictonalvocabulary and Balance, which, don't get me wrong, are Mr. Child's great strong suit, he attacks here with a deeper style. Hidden beneath his powerful shuffling drum loops are spooky vocal abstractions (some breathing sounds!), deceptive tribal rhythms, and screeching electronic noise (a product of his industrial Birmingham residence), bringing to mind a deranged primal ceremony somewhere deep in the jungles yet-unexplored. The fierce qualities end up losing the battle, however, as he winds up the album with a beautiful Detroit-styled jam with washing chords and light percussion. Check this disc out for a great piece that is a very listenable 50 minutes long and a very cohesive album."