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*** Delarosa and Asora

AGONY

(Schematic)

Although it strays from traditional ideas about musical beauty, Delarosa and Asora’s Agony is far less painful than the title suggests. In fact, the 12 tracks of headphone-oriented electronica go down quite easily. The nom de techno of Atlanta-based electronic producer Scott Herren (who also records as Prefuse 73 and Savath+Savalas), Delarosa and Asora utilizes the kind of musique concrète experimenting, fractured digital rhythms, and binary burn that is commonplace in the world of experimental — or “glitch” — techno. But Herren tempers his frazzled drum patterns and laptop blurts with playful melodies, warm sonorities, and organic instrumentation that flirts with sentimentality. His delicate layering of hypnotic marimba, deep bass booms, burnished horn tones, and frazzled drums on “Two Hum” recalls the gentler side of Tortoise. The angelic choral sample that begins “Paz Suite 1” imports a sense of fragile calm to the ragged track; “Wooden Toe” is saved from rhythmic chaos by a gossamer synth pattern. Although Herren’s virtuosic computer skills — otherworldly sonorities, restless drum patterns — are impressive, they’re balanced by melodic instrumentation and ornamentation that save Agony from the torture chamber.

— Michael Endelman