Lies. Conspiracy. Cold War extraterrestrials. Inspiration can come in unlikely forms, and the backbone of Sound Tribe Sector 9’s latest, Ad Explorata, might be one of the strangest.
The story involves code-cracking, secret government organizations and intergalactic communication. This is the kind of inspiration every electro band (and sci-fi flick) should look for. Part of the code they allegedly discovered is sampled at the start of “Central,” and if you trust your decrypting ability, you can go ahead and try to figure it out for yourself. Or you can read the full back story here.
An eerie darkness surrounds the album, but it casts no shadows on a brilliant sonic spectrum. Ad Explorata has the kind of mysterious undertones that render a cynical appeal. Avoiding excessive optimism, it is an exhilarating step into unknown realms of sound. Ever explore a cave by candlelight?
As always, STS9 is equal parts sci-fi movie soundtrack, jam band and Euro dance club. If the ambience of 2005’s Artifact represents their past and 2008’s Peaceblaster is a socially conscious present, then Ad Explorata gazes into a bleak future–stimulating, yet dismal.
It is like a digital audio rendition of Bukowski’s “Dinosauria, We.” A bitter future will sooner or later lead to beauty in destruction. The downtempo dance break “EHM” supports the theory, incorporating just enough curiosity and good feeling into Ad Explorata to makes the present worthwhile. Bukowski references “the most beautiful silence never heard;” STS9’s take on beauty is completely audible and still carries a similar tone.
If the album needs to be summed up in a single track, “Oil & Water” is the leading candidate. Its title is fitting because like the album at large, it contains sounds that shouldn’t mix. But anything can mix when you shake it up, and STS9 can be ruthless with a blender. “Oil & Water” opens to a psychotic stir to move things along. From there the track drifts into some atmospheric electronica, ranging from minimalistic patterns to climaxing builds.
What Daft Punk was to nineties house, STS9 is to the millennium, an innovative dance explosion. Their self-description of “post-rock dance music” is madly apparent in Ad Explorata‘s array of instruments and frequencies. At times a shredding guitar section takes over, and songs like “Heavy” will make you wonder where the metal came from. Did they team up with Lightning Bolt?
Experimentation with sound is a beaten path in digital music. It’s practically the genre’s foundation. But pushing the envelope a little further never hurts when some original quality is maintained. “Crypto City” is a strong sample of the group playing the old-meets-new card. Exit the concrete jungle and move into the chrome age with animal-like reverberations and floaty synths. This trip is heading down the river, and it’s just another leg in the journey.
As with any release, the general appeal can, but should not, be boiled down to individual factors. Darkness shows up through mystery, down tempo minor keys and a crazy back-story. Dance-ability via drum beats and synth hooks. Futurism from digitized sound bites and, well, the usual electronic aspects. But in the end, the factors are all notes in a chord. Alone, they are nothing. Through conglomeration, they can add up to something great. Fans will recognize the band’s uncanny mastery of keyboards and soundboards, while skeptics and nonbelievers may shrug. The feel of Ad Explorata might take more than a single listen to get acclimated, but it is well worth the climb.
3 and 1/2 stars
