GQ on the EQ++

by Ned RaggettGive credit to the Kid for this one -- when the original vinyl release turned up on CD, it became a full-on rarities collection, pulling together unreleased tracks and a variety of scattered one-off efforts as bonus cuts. The result is a nice overview of his work between 1997 and 1999, with his brand of extreme loop/sample treatments and glitch rhythms on regular display. The original EP tracks are enjoyable enough as they are; there are enough individual touches -- the wordless vocals on "My Kitten Went to London," the calmer distorted string/drone rumble of "Dandy," the almost shoegaze/blissout wash of "Take It from Me" -- to make it a worthy listen on its own. Beyond that, the other random tracks are an all-over-the-place delight, starting with the nicely titled "...Just Another Kool Kat Out Looking for a Kitty," which hits all the buttons from dank breakbeat noise to piano ambience and soft wordless vocal croons, usually all at once. In contrast to the often noisy way Kid606 has made his mark, "Nobody Wants to Be a Star Anymore (Toss It)" takes a completely low-key approach, with a quieter volume compared to everything else on the disc and a soft, sweet melody gently floating above a persistent but still pretty calm rhythm. "When I Want a Gun, Yeah" fits into that vein as well, but with more open clattering and sudden spikes in the volume to throw things even more off-kilter. Of three tracks from a split tour single with Lesser, "Relive Yr Unhappy Childhood" is the best, a dreamier but melancholy piece that's short but makes its effective point.