Demissions is the album every in-the-know electronica fan has been anxiously awaiting for the last ten years. Phoenecia, the duo who put experimental electronic music on the map in the US with their Soul Oddity releases, their infamous Schematic label, their early releases on Warp and their brilliant albums Brownout & Echelon Mall, are back with new album destined to be as ageless & influential as any of their previous contributions. What strikes the listener at first is how seamlessly the songs throughout the album integrate acoustic percussion with electronics, most notably on the twelve-minute epic first track Two-part invention for Bodhran & Computer.
Some tracks sit at the near end of biological chaos, some closer to clean & structural reason, nevertheless, each song seems to narrate a different chapter from the same story, never straying too far from the central theme. Demissions nimbly traverses the gaps between techno, electronica, ambient, industrial and noise, all the while rarely reminding the listener that they are actually listening to electronic music. All of this makes it difficult to categorize, but not difficult to listen to, and though the music seems well aware of it’s influences, it’s just too awkward a child to sit comfortably beside any well established genre, camp, or collective. The result is a surprisingly fluid piece of work that plays like a contiguous, mood-driven soundtrack - A long-form concept album custom-made to satisfy the neglected legions of critical electronic music lovers with high ideals & short-attention-spans. “Demissions is far and away one of the best albums of 2011. In typical form, Phoenecia always delivers amazing sonic cerebral experiences that never disappoint. I don’t know how they do it.” - Richard Devine “I can almost forgive Rom + Josh for making us all wait this long… the whole album is incredible, it puts a big smile on my face to hear the return of the Miami masters.
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