Asa Breed

Between the animalistic funk of 2003 single "Dog Days"-- a dance track that cheerfully nuzzled its way into a SXSW/CMJ mindset-- and 2004's Backstroke LP, there was a lot of talk of Matthew Dear's shapeshifting abilities. He'd already proven, both under his own name (recording for Ghostly and its Spectral sublabel) and as False (for Richie Hawtin's Plus 8 and Minus labels) and Jabberjaw (for Perlon), that he could stretch and twist his Slinky-like tracks to traverse any hairpin of techno's staircase. Now, word was, Dear was turning towards even greater accessibility with a record that would bring a new sense of songform to his gritty, agreeable beat structures.

Full Review | More Reviews from Publication | Top Rated of 2007

Try though I have to learn to love it, something about the already-acclaimed-elsewhere Asa Breed, the second album from Detroit-based artist Matthew Dear, just doesn’t click with me. While I can identify elements that flitter between likeable and Very Good Actually – the record’s pop core beats vibrantly throughout, as fizzy electro is poured atop its spherical form liberally and jovially – the effect it has on me is limited to the surface only. There seems, personally, to be little in the way of depth here; Asa Breed sounds like a highly-stylised piece of work designed purely to attract the right winks and nods.

Full Review | More Reviews from Publication | Top Rated of 2007