Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits, 1972-2006

Beyond the high-octane explosions, there's an intriguing subtlety at work here. The opening "Dance Like You're Selling Nails" fires its baroque melody through a number of different mediums--the somersaulting vocals of an opera singer, rolling classical piano, digital woodwind--as mammoth barrages of distorted drums stop-start like shunting juggernauts. Sure, in spirit, it's all totally punk-rock: "Suckin' that corporate cock!" sneers a disgusted voice on "Vokeheads", as circuit boards reach tempo overload in the background. But like his closest peers--Kid 606 and Aphex Twin--there's a complexity to Venetian Snares' gleefully extreme assault that points way beyond the pursuit of noise for noise's sake. --Louis Pattison