5 out of 5

Label: Ninja Tune

Producer: Amon Tobin

Jesus, ‘permutation’ is right.  Did you say you wanted to sample every style Amon Tobin has dappled with, mixed seamlessly together so you’re never thrown off by the switch between IDM, groove, jungle, and etc?  It’s a rather odd thing to say, but someone listened, and you have Permutation to listen to.

Funny that I was initially nonplussed by what I heard here, deeming it a bit too Ninja Tune-y.  This is a consequence of timing, and of how smooth the mix is.  The catch is that there are moments – of the album in general, within songs – that do fit the NJ vibe of (to my ears) playfulness over substance, funky rhythms to get your toe tapping that find / found an indie audience because of clever samples or wowable technique.  Not that I can so clearly draw a line between what’s fun and what has an undercurrent of emotion, but trusting my gut, I just rarely feel any connection to most of Ninja Tune’s catalogue… which was part of my hesitation in accepting Tobin’s work for a while.  And ‘Permutation’ seems to purposefully play with that concept, the album starting in one direction, then shifting gears around midway (on track 7, the appropriately titled ‘Switch’) toward a more aggressive, experimental vibe.  But prior to this, as micro-cycles within songs, Tobin will take a fun or predictable beat and just work it, mold it, until it’s perverted ever-so-slightly from its origin to sound completely different – a fun little chime twisted into an angular warning.  It is a subtle effect, because the entire thing is propelled by Amon’s continually shuffling beats, and the effect isn’t dolled up with a foghorn or anything, so it translates best through headphones, where suddenly a snare rush catches your ear and then you’re draw in, listening to the little minutiae.

Which is how this album ends up feeling like more of an accomplishment as a whole.  I’ve dug most of Tobin’s output, and most of it is challenging, and effective, and aware of sequencing and all that groovy stuff I normally harp on.  But there’s something about the tricksy and participatory listening experience of Permutation that really just sent me into fits of love for the guy.  Album opener ‘Like Regular Chickens’ is a misleadingly straight-forward exercise in IDM-ish percussion (an inviting beginning, nothing too angular, nothing too funky) that uses the ‘Bridge’ of track two to segue into our first morphing track, appropriately titled ‘Reanimator,’ where the jazz-funk stops by, and then the permutations begin.  Are these connections made up?  Probably.  And yet, I don’t care.  Tobin’s niche of jazzy jungle has allowed the guy to work toward some amazing creations during his career.  ‘Permutations’ is my first electronic album that, from start to finish, doesn’t just sink in due to re-listens, rather once it catches you – with whichever moment where a changeup causes your brain to halt and slow down – once it catches you, you can’t stop listening to it.