Sorted

DJ Acucrack (the question mark refers to there being more than one "DJ" here) indulge in the gleefully dark industrial rock made popular by KMFDM, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails et al. filtered through the hyperbeat techno of acts like the Prodigy. Not surprising, since the two programmers/musicians behind Sorted are part of Chicago's alt metal Acumen Nation who've opted to stick to the electronic side for this project. The difference from ordinary techno here is the song-oriented material and the preponderance of vocals. Songwriter Jason Novak is the primary vocalist, and on tracks like "Mal Fader" and "Red Star Alien Race" his vocals are distorted until he comes across as a demonic robot aping Prodigy vocalist Keith Flint's firestarting technique and waxing philosophical on all things paranoid and misanthropic. The aforementioned tracks and the majority of the album are straight-up drum'n'bass with driving tempos, skittery breakbeats, and somewhat two-dimensional results. But there are standout exceptions: "Chicks Dig Acid" references not only the Acid loop editing software and British techno style popular in the mid-'90s, but gives a sly nod to Meat Beat Manifesto's "Never Acid Again," as both songs feature a sampled female voice repeated the songs' titles as a mantra. "So to Speak" rolls in on a midtempo slippery groove straight from the Crystal Method's stylebook and might be the album's most accessible track, mostly due to contributions from frequent collaborators Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia of defunct shoegazers Curve. The most DJ-friendly tracks are "Selector vs. the Acucrack," a galloping glow stick raver, and "Chemo," a shuffling dreamscape from the galaxy where the Chemical Brothers reside. Fans of any of the above mentioned acts will find something for them to like on Sorted, and it's possible it may even please the denizens of the dancefloor. Just ask the DJ.