A stream of really fucked up and squashed techno-experiments was one of last year’s most exciting strains of experimental electronic music. At the end of 2011 some had already labeled records like Prurient’s „Bermuda Drain“ or Container’s self-titled mini-album on Spectrum Spools as post-techno.  But, all the labelling aside, the last year saw a variety of distorted and demented techno explorations coming from the most surprising sources (most notably the US-American noise music underground). Pete Swanson’s „Man With Potential“ is probably one of the most abrasive of this flux of records. The album opener „Misery Beat“ is an acid-track turned inside-out, eventually giving way for menacing noise washing over the thunderous kick. On ”Remote View“ Swanson drowns haunting synth-pads in layer after layer of distorted and grainy textures full of industrial shrapnel. The following tracks are equally relentless, cutting through you like sharp rusty objects with the album’s title track being the nervous system's crushing climax, before the closing track „Face The Music“ bathes you one last time in a corrosive sea of distortion and noise. Demanding as it may be „Man With Potential“ is equally rewarding. But, definitely nothing for the faint of heart.

by artistxite