PLUS

When Autechre’s *SIGN* dropped in October 2020, its hour-long running time and comparatively consonant tones marked a major shift from the tangled sonics and mazelike dimensions of 2016’s four-hour *elseq* and 2018’s eight-hour *NTS Sessions*. But Sean Booth and Rob Brown often have a trick up their sleeves: Just two weeks later they released *PLUS*, featuring nine additional tracks presumably cut from the same sessions. Darker and more turbulent than its predecessor, *PLUS* trades *SIGN*’s frequently rosy blush for squalls of dissonance. Brief but potent, “DekDre Scap B” sets an ominous tone with metallic drones and arrhythmic shudders that suggest a submarine tearing apart at the seams. The tensions at the heart of Autechre’s work, as randomness pulls against dance music’s repetitive structures, have long suggested a tug-of-war between the duo and its labyrinthine software creations, and on *PLUS*, it’s easy to get the sense that the software is winning. “7FM ic” shuffles like a cybernetic zombie, buffeted by noxious blasts; “marhide” begins with drum sounds familiar from electro’s classic TR-808s, but the hesitant groove, nearly suffocated in a fog of white noise, transmits the opposite of electro’s kinetic energy. That’s not to say there aren’t some jams here: “X4” spins canonical IDM’s jittery rhythms into a 12-minute epic, while “TM1 open” gives acid techno a heart-racing nudge. And there are a few moments of spare, almost delicate beauty: The stately chords of “esle 0” sound like church-organ music from the 23rd century. But by and large, *PLUS* sounds like Autechre is giving free rein to their machines and inviting us to come along for the thrillingly unpredictable ride.

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