Unless you’ve barricaded yourself with obscure European electronica releases and live by the light of a lava lamp situated next to your daily dose of amphetamines, Autechre’s latest will be little more than techno Enya: a soundscape, meant to blend into the background.

And even that premise is questionable—since most people I know don’t consider bass-heavy military drone beats their first choice for apartment soundtracks. Autechre clearly show their music isn’t meant for easy accessibility—except maybe by 31st century robots. Titles like “pce Freeze 28i” or “nth Dafusederb” look like the work of a recently sentient computer struggling to invent its own language, rather than that of a pair of British musicians. Sean Booth and Robert Brown’s disregard for auditory aesthetics is apparent from track one, “Etchogon-S,” which is a chaotic glitch and bass cry for help from a lonely basement guy whose only material possession is a Casio keyboard. “Y7” actually bothers with rhythm, perhaps convincing coked-up Eurotrash of this album’s worthiness, but for American audiences used to the eletro-dance-pop of Hot Chip or MIA, it’s all bone and no meat. Granted, Autechre aren’t seeking seats in the Hot Chip/MIA arena, but their style is a minimalist scraping of other forms: they’re kind of like noise, kind of like drum and bass, kind of like dance club music…. leaving them in a stark no-man’s land.

Even while floating in their self-made purgatory, they insist the listener suffers in hell. Tracks “pce freeze 28i,” “Rew(1)” and “nth Dafusederb,” all mesh together, with little-to-no distinguishing features, besides their magical ability to make minutes stretch into hours. With “Iris was a Pupil,” Autechre try their hand at not only obnoxiously cute, yet readable, song titles, they actually approach the realm of music, with its crazy notions of form and linear progression. If you like tripping balls on the sizzurp and pretending you’re in a videogame circa Super Nintendo, buddy, have I got a song for you… it’s like Mario is in one of the haunted mansion levels, and suddenly happens across the characters from Castlevania.

Not until the end of this wild loner’s experiment does Move of Ten became an album intended for human audiences. “M62” gains the speed desperately needed in previous tracks; a liveliness and energy overcomes the morbid drumbeat. This song will surely go the rounds in the uber-sexy Berliner clubs, but besides its cheapo keyboard overtone, its slick modern minimalism is a path well treaded before in Kompakt releases. But alas, what Autechre givith, Autechre cruelly taketh away: “M62” clocks in at six minutes, sorely overstaying its welcome. “Ylm0” is the invention of computerized Dali… whether that’s good or bad I leave to you. Finally we reach “Cep puiqMX.” This, along with “M62,” are the tracks most steeped in previous musical creations—think static-y Janet Jackson circa Rhythm Nation. Yet its tone is darker, more dangerous, extreme, and angry. The music seems to come from a far-off place, travels closer and closer, drips, slows, and then explodes. Sounds seem to take on a physical form here, they scream and crawl and then just… die. This is like Janet Jackson, but in the fucking Thunderdome. [Spoiler alert: she looses the fight.] The album’s sudden ending is predictable: Autechre set up a cold, uncaring world, where the only exit is a quick death to end the anguish. Oh look, these guys are turning me into a depressed German nihilist already…

Move of Ten is a great source of material for DJs [hint: “pce Freeze 28i” and Sinatra’s “I’ve got the World on a String” oddly overlap well], but for those who aren’t Girl Talk and his ilk, I recommend sticking to a few tracks. Depending on your level of insanity, standout tracks are as follows: “Iris was a Pupil” for your videogame nostalgias, “M62” to practice Eurotrash dance moves for the upcoming study abroad, “ylm0” for the mad artists, and finally “Cep puiqMX” for anyone whose personal idol is Pinhead. Sweet dreams, kiddos.

Track List:
1. Etchogon-S
2. y7
3. pce freeze 28i
4. rew1
5. nth Dafusederb
6. iris was pupil
7. no border
8. M62
9. ylm0
10. Cep puiqMX