3 out of 5

Label: Central Processing Unit

Produced by: Jonathan Taylor

It is surely satisfying to see Global Goon on CPU – just so they can sort of complete a dream list of classic Rephlexers – and Goon’s offering for the imprint does sync with their material as of late, but it’s something of a middling release for the artist.

Not to mislead: Nanoclusters is sharp and slippery, like the majority of GG’s stuff. Johnny Hawk / Jonathan Taylor has a misleadingly simple way of slinking from densely layered acid into pop, often setting him alongside Ed Upton / DMX Krew as a master of the basics, that are actually not that basic at all. And I think where Goon found like company with Rephlex was how many of their stable were picked up by Grant Wilson-Claridge and RDJ – his stuff was danceable but intelligent, hence that damnable IDM term. What “intelligent” means is surely debatable (and why danceable doesn’t suggest that…), but to me, it just showed an awareness of the potential of the music beyond getting people on the dancefloor, while also being aware that sometimes just getting people on the dancefloor can be a good thing.

As the years have gone on, IDM has had a wide influence, and so it naturally becomes harder to find one’s own sound, and to innovate. While Hawk didn’t go silent for as long a period as some others, there have been some jumps in his output, which has recently started up again. Goon is playful and inventive as ever, but I can hear some genre exploration, and I’d guess the artist is working with CPU to specifically harken back to the boppy acid the label likes to feature, which results in several tracks on Nanoclusters featuring excellent, grooving beats, but not ones that evolve into standouts. Especially when compared to tracks like opener Khroxic Mould, or B-side’s Calcula, which both start in kind of playful territory, then shift into darker, heavier acid with a magical sleight of hand. The latter track is a particularly impressive showcase of production, blending 80s-ish percussion with a tip-toed-in modern beat.

The B-side features further works of this type, but there’s some structural repetition there: start light; add some acid. It doesn’t sound repetitive, given that each track has a unique hook, but once you’re keen to the structure, it diminishes some of the organic “surprise” of the changeups.

This doesn’t diminish three things: that it’s super cool to see another Rephlexer on CPU; that it’s super cool to see Taylor this active again; and that Nanoclusters is incredibly enjoyable, even if it’s not a standout on Goon’s oeuvre.