Huerco S, who’s been on the go for the previous months, is one of the youngsters having been labeled with »Outsider House« by his colleagues. In the absence of a better category, the definition is somewhat fitting, while still leaving room for discussion. After having enjoyed (I know, the term kinda takes away the suspense of a review) his debut »Colonial Patterns«, I want to have a try at defining his style, as well, proposing the term »Industrial Ambient«. It’s a debatable name, too, but one thing is for sure: It’s »Music for the head« than Huerco S hands to his listeners with this record. If you take the fantastic track »Quivira«, for example, you’ll have to agree that it’s one of the most outstanding treasures of an exceptional debut: It’s like a workshop with an open roof, which has dark clouds passing through it, cutting the mist and running in fast motion. It’s the same way that Huerco S’s productions cut through a dystopian soundscape of mystical colors, still as precisely as German engineering. The percussion follows its program, discreetly but firmly, visibly unimpressed by the dense and almost bone-crushing collages of noise brewing in the background. »Ragtime U.S.A. [Warning]« is a similar case, but in contrast to »Colonial Patterns«, which is made of various irritating loops, the track is much more focused on groove, while still creating its own world, shivering and struggling in its inner core – six unsettling yet magnetizing minutes of music. Here’s another possible definition: »Hitchcock House«. That’s fitting, too. Either way: it’s a fantastic, it’s an essential record.
Colonial Patterns
