Pole

Tuner is a duo consisting of King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto and multi-instrumentalist Markus Reuter. Their music is a sharp and bracing fusion of sounds that draws on industrial, prog, punk, techno, and even hip-hop influences to create something likely to capture the attention of a wide spectrum of adventurous listeners. Crimson fans will hone in immediately on the crooked and difficult rhythmic structure of tracks like "Black Well Monotony," while followers of Nine Inch Nails and vintage industrial music will find that song's sonic textures familiar as well. The weird acoustic guitar sound and punky attitude of "White Cake Sky" are both lots of fun, and "Arson Dandy" manages to be both quite conventionally hooky and deeply sonically weird at the same time. The album sags in the middle, when several tracks meander aimlessly under the faux-sexy whispers and lip-smacking of guest vocalist Lisa Fletcher. Overall, though, this is a very promising debut.