Oneohtrix Point Never might not necessarily be the next household name, but Rifts is a powerful record that is definitely turning some heads and pricking

Oneohtrix Point Never might not necessarily be the next household name, but Rifts is a powerful record that is definitely turning some heads and pricking some ears. As readers of The Wire magazine already know, this release nearly topped its revered list as the #2 Best Album of 2009. I can testify that from the moment I first heard OPN on WNYU last year, I was mesmerized -- here were thick textures of staccato analog synth loops, an attentiveness to melody so acute that it bore "hooks" from noise/drone elements, and a measured and restrained pace, despite the sheer amount of notes being run through the delay. With its unmistakable '80s bustle, this music could double as a score for the birth of the Information Age, but its retrospective style does not negate its sophistication, and Rifts signifies great advances in melodic noise, owing in part to the mature, skilled approach of the composer.

Oneohtrix Point Never is the solo project of Daniel Lopatin, of Brooklyn drone/loop duo Infinity Window, and at 27 tracks spanning two-and-a-half hours, Rifts is a somewhat intimidating sample of the past three years of his music-making. This bountiful double-disc release includes three OPN full-lengths, as well as a handful of tracks culled from Lopatin's couple dozen cassettes and CD-Rs. I'm thrilled that this collection has arrived on our shelves; previously, Lopatin's records were isolated treasures in our vinyl bins, extremely limited and seemingly never to be seen again. I'm happy to be wrong about that, as Oneohtrix Point Never's varied compositions will make an indelible impression not only on those into German Kraut pioneers such as Klaus Schulze and Manuel Gottsching, but contemporary experimentalists such as Sun Araw, Ducktails, and White Rainbow. On a note that's so un-avant that maybe it's actually avant again, it's also worth mentioning that one of the noise scene's newest experimentalists is actually making closet dance music, and Lopatin could easily, if he wanted, be a cornerstone of 2010's emerging instrumental electro scene, including Teengirl Fantasy, Pictureplane, Chicago's Gatekeeper, Javelin, and surely others who don't even exist yet. Oneohtrix Point Never presents a challenging blend of melody to noise, ambience to beats, and retro to modern. One of the must-have experimental releases of this past year!

-Karen Soskin (February 22, 2010)