Release date: 22-01-2008

Anyone who heard Richard Swift's magnificent Dressed Up For The Letdown album from last year will most likely be extremely surprised to hear that this album is by the same guy. Far away from the Jim O' Rourke-style '70s-sounding pop rock masterpieces we know him for, on this album Swift conjures a collection of Jim O'Rourke-like experimental electronic pieces. Well, not that much like Jim at all really, but there's certainly a parallel to be made between O' Rourke's double life as a singer-songwriter and experimental composer. While Swift's music is a little more swayed toward conventional electronica than O'Rourke's more serious avant-garde works, the music on this release does tap into the same sort of drone-tinged idiom, particularly on cuts like 'Subplot' and 'War/Unwar'. There's definitely an inclination towards Radiophonic Workshop-style retro effects and sound shaping, particularly when it comes to some of the drum edits. Broadcast and Harmonic 33 would also make for decent comparisons. 'Theme 5' could be an old soundtrack to some '60s BBC sci-fi teleplay - check out those beautiful space echo delays. It's great to discover another side of Swift's work, and while it doesn't come off as sounding quite as outstanding as his songwriting, there's a good deal to recommend Instruments Of Science & Technology.

Tracks:
01. Ashes 
02. INST 
03. Subplot 
04. Shooting a Rhino Between the Shoulders 
05. Plan A and Plan B 
06. Theme 5 
07. War/Unwar 
08. Theme 3 
09. Theme 4 
10. Clay Young Battles the Man 
11. Ghost of Hip Hop 
12. They Provide Light