emerging through storm-like waves of distortion, opener ‘alpha’ sets the scene for this beguiling cassette release, with melodies rising out of — and then descending back into — the chaos. ‘3000 years’ takes vocal samples as a starting point, before melting into layer upon layer of delay, after which ‘confounded’ picks up the pace with its heavily distorted beats and the side then closes to the sound of a distant choir burning in acidic ambience in the shape of ‘fruitless clicking’. the nightmarish, malfunctioning machinery vibes continue onto the second side, with the more dance oor-friendly ‘strange conversations’ and ‘the brink’ bookended by the two-part ambient epic ‘pale blue dot’. dark, glitchy, and at times outright uncomfortable — perfectly suited to the cassette format.