4 out of 5

Label: Shipwrec

Produced by: Ed DMX

Throwback – to the 90s, anyway – electro from Ed DMX, adding to a slurry of fascinating style experiments on Netherlands label Shipwrec, No Way to Control It conjures up 12 cuts of moody electro, both panicked and steady state, and given the mark of Ed quality through its focus on precision – giving the tunes just what they need to be memorable, and danceable.

The bleak, abstract black hole cover art and the album and song titles tell a tale: swirling into abyss, Dangerous Dungeon kicks things off with a fast-paced clatter, told in tight, early AFX-like electro beats, but with modern production: it’s dense, rich stuff that fills the speakers. On the B-side of this LP, the listener’s journey flattens out – these are realms Ed has explored on some of his electro full-lengths, like Ghost Bubbles: heartbeat rhythms, synth lines poking in for a measure or two before the beat is peeled down to its basics. Paired against the A-side, though, this stuff isn’t as exciting, its repetitious nature showing through as the tracks kind of blend together.

As part of the overall picture, though, it fits in; things pick back up on the C-side as DMX fights against the loops with some IDM / acid squiggles, although kind of poking fun at the callbacks here with titles like ‘Rephlections in Time’ and ‘Dinosaur Reaction’ – reaching back to Rephlex (Cylob; Ed’s Wave Function-era stuff) for inspiration. Finally, we sink into the depths, as the D-side reverts back to more chill techno, with repeated loops and vocal samples, but remnants of the earlier restlessness / nerviness seeps in.

A slew of old school club jams have populated the Ed airwaves over the last few years. Periodically, he returns to full albums – and especially with Shipwrec – that give a go at darker territory. The focus on No Way feels like a panicked time warp to past eras of electro, half-accepting and half-struggling against it, ultimately relenting but with some defiance – DMX Krew saluting us while sinking into the music’s depths, inviting or daring us to jump in after.