Otto Von Schirach – Supermeng

Otto Von Schirach has always been something of a sonic terrorist – his combination of Miami bass, breakcore freakouts and flashes of in-your-face grindcore distortion have gained him a big following among the IDM crowd and fans of sheer, balls-out hardcore dance alike. His latest sees him taking a tongue-in-cheek approach, using his Cuban / Miami roots as a jumping-off point, but also experimenting with post-punk, rock-based compositions. Unfortunately, the result is an unappealing, plodding mess.

Opener Salpica is disposable Miami bass, closely followed by the lame punk of Ultimate Universe. The Blob sees Von Schirach exploring brainless brostep, with a few glitches thrown in for good measure, but it's not extreme enough to really satisfy. Distressingly, Quasar seems to suggest a theme or concept behind the album, something about superheroes and space, but mired in indecipherable, annoying catchphrases, lapsing lazily into sub-Nero wub-wub noise. There's some satisfying 80s electro-abuse in the form of Gravitron, but it's all too little too late. [Bram Gieben]