Monte

Released the same day as the third LCD Soundsystem single, this 12" is quite different from the remainder of DFA releases thus far, save for a relative -- if misleading -- kinship with Black Dice. Lone A-side "El Monte" is a 14-minute track of astutely layered electronics that has a thing or two in common with the likes of Cluster and Manuel Göttsching. Drones and tight sequences of keyboard patterns build momentum for ten minutes, until it crests in intensity for a brief stretch, and then it all winds down at a steady pace. The B-side is a remix of another one of the duo's tracks from the DFA production team. One can tell that the original mix might've been quite similar to the A-side, with the DFA altering it by inserting a machine-ish but man-made disco rhythm beneath it. This is one of the crew's most effective, most restrained reworkings -- not to be dismissed. ~ Andy Kellman