Never one to sit back and rest comfortably on his achievements, only releasing continually watered-down simulations of his back catalogue like so many U2s and Rolling Stones, Miguel "Kid606" Depedro's latest release is quite a change of pace from last year's Resilience. As opposed to the mellow dub downtempo that was all the rage in naught five, Pretty Girls Make Raves is a thorough exploration of glitchy, synth-driven, sample-happy techno like Mouse On Mars used to make, ignoring the slow-rocking hip-hop closer "Oakland Highsiding." It's always a shock putting on new 606, one fans should expect by now. About a minute into the 154 bpm (all tracks are listed with their individual beats per minute) opener "Let It Rock," I was already saying, "what the hell is this?" I'm never instantly sure whether I like it or not, but I know when I stop getting that feeling, it'll be over for the Kid. Although my favorite works are still behind him, it's good to see the man still trucking and trying different things. This guy has more range than most other electronic producers can even dream of.
1. Let It Rock (154 bpm)
2. Chickenfight (128 bpm)
3. Boomin' (136 bpm)
4. Meet Me At The Bottom (125.7 bpm)
5. Comeuppance (127 bpm)
6. T.Y.T.R. (129 bpm)
7. Getdownlow (130 bpm)
8. Oakland Highsiding (81 bpm)