- Bristol's JoeFarr first emerged as one of Turbo's New Jack Techno generation alongside the likes of J.Tijn and Clouds. As with his peers, Farr's approach is no-frills, and geared towards the sweat-soaked dance floor. He's turned in relatively streamlined productions for Turbo and others, and his tracks have plenty of big-room potential, in a gurning-death-march kind of way. But for his solo debut on Power Vacuum, following a collaboration with J. Tijn on the recent Vectors compilation, Farr has set aside some of his boldest and most idiosyncratic productions.
All five of these tracks are essentially solid. Farr has proven himself more than capable of turning out white-hot industrial techno bangers, and his sense of groove is more or less impeccable. But it's an additional pinch of chaos that makes the EP's best moments stand out. On highlight "On Your Life," for example, it's the meaty feedback tones twisting and writhing across its surface. "Sentry," meanwhile, sports a coarse metallic riff, a bit like a garage full of power tools shrieking and grinding in unison. "My Sixth"'s synth stabs flutter crankily, perhaps mimicking the heart palpitations of the unfortunate ravers caught in its grip. Elsewhere these touches are lacking—"Rampart" and "What Time Is Now" are both less thrilling, though the latter's noxious swing might prove difficult to resist. Now that Farr has shown his freakish side, his straighter productions feel like a mild disappointment.
TracklistA1 On Your Life
A2 Sentry
A3 My Sixth
B1 Rampart
B2 What Time Is Now