3 out of 5

Label: Shitkatapult

Produced by: Sascha Ring

What we have here is essentially an expanded version of Tttrial: further expansions of the elements at play; more confident song structure; occasional highlights flattened out by meanderings tracks that simply don’t seem to try to move beyond a certain level.  The expansion does work in Duplex’s favor, though, as the increased runtime seems to have given Ring more reason to consider sequencing, so the good bits are spread out to keep the listener attentive.  Granular Bastard, opening the disc, is our IDM bait again, expertly synced with Sascha’s understated sounds to create a grabbing, stop-start beat that – as soon as that sliding sound effect kicks in – lets you know you’re dealing with someone very comfortable with their tools.  Followup Contradiction toys with a slinky Radiohead vibe and vocals; it’s pleasant and smooth, but leads into the disc’s run of less defined tracks – from 3 to 6 – during which the ghost of Multifunktion comes back to a certain extent, and Ring can’t seem to go minimal enough or pump things up enough to make a dent.  New aural tricks flutter through, but it doesn’t hit until Ring gets back to some more challenging rhythms with Schallstrom, which is almost a game-changer, slinking back and forth between dance move bursts and minimalist moments to really start to outline a ‘sound’ Ring can call his own.  Duplex remains at a fairly quality level for its remainder, though there are a couple of interim tracks that don’t add much except buffer, and the thrilling organic lead-in to the closing track feels wasted when that song doesn’t really build on this intro.

Again, the main issue here is that Ring can’t seem to find a niche that sticks outside of pleasant territory for more than a few tracks.  However, the sounds he ropes in here are exciting, and the album flows well, sliding in and out of one’s attentiveness at a good clip.