Bitchin Bajas - Bitchitronics [VINYL]

This Michigan duo specialise in long, droning synth pieces full of subtly altering, twinkly textures and sensual, dark undertows. The music on the incongruously titled Bitchtronics is clearly very indebted to the oeuvre of Brian Eno, in particular his 1973 collaboration with Robert Fripp, (No Pussyfooting), the record which pretty much laid the foundations for what came to called ambient music.

The musical debt will be obvious to anyone who's heard that album; when the sky-scraping, heavily-treated guitar rears up early in 'Transcendence', it's pure Frippertronics. Not that this is a bad thing, although the guitar sound is so synonymous with Fripp you can't help wondering how the great man would feel if he heard it. Then again, now he's sadly retired from music (even turning down an invitation to appear on the recent Bowie album!), perhaps its just nice that someone's keeping his glorious innovations alive.

Aside from that blatant act of homage (and I'm guessing the album's title is a knowing wink to 'Frippertronics'), the burbling analogue sounds of 'Inclusion' are more Cluster than Eno (or perhaps Harmonia, which would be Eno again) , while the ethereal flute which takes flight towards the end is redolent of early Kraftwerk. Meanwhile, the briefest track here, 'Sun City' at five-minutes-long, is also the simplest, building intentionally wobbly, deteriorating synth washes into an ocean of golden sound.

All in all, it's pretty easy to spot the influences on Bitchtronics if you know your ambient/Krautrock/kosmische, but if you're a sucker for that kind of stuff (and I undoubtedly am) then you'll also hear that Bitchin Bajas are doing it right.