Autechre "Altibzz"

• Words: Wyatt Williams
• Label: Warp Records

Rob Brown and Sean Booth, the two English IDM pioneers that make up Autechre, have been relentlessly tweaking their distinct sound for the last 20 or so years. Autechre hasn’t released a record since 2005’s Untilted, making for the longest break in Brown and Booths' career thus far. Quaristice is their response to that break, a 20-track album as varied as anything they’ve ever released. They’ve talked in interviews about a long tour and a relocation contributing to the delay, but the album’s relatively short tracks sound like they’ve been shaped and distilled over time, much to their benefit. The result is an assaulting sweep of damaged synths and impressionistic noise. “Altibzz,” the opening track, is both a spell of drony, ambient bliss and a calm before the storm. Wyatt Williams