Bleep

The enigmatic Greg Beato keeps us guessing with new cassette LOUD. Beato has always been one for trying out new sounds and styles, and with LOUD he extrapolates that spirit of invention out over a full-length album for the first time since 2017’s El Tipo Mas Bonito En La Generacion De Los Feos.

While the bulk of LOUD orbits the sun of house/techno, the first couple of tracks are designed to throw the listener off the scent. On opener ‘EML Granular’ Beato and his pal Nick León create a grinding dronescape that’s full of industrial flourishes. It’s more the sort of thing that one would expect from a Hospital Records mainstay rather than an artist who’s had several EPs released through Steven Julien’s Apron label. Straight after ‘EML Granular’ we get ‘No Shooters’, an abstract acid cut that proves to be another red herring.

When we settle into the more club-orientated fare it becomes clear that Beato intends to test out as many styles as he can. One minute Beato is making machine-malfunction freakbeat in the form of ‘Levantate Gregoriooo’, the next he’s on more of a Hieroglyphic Being tip with ‘Peace & Quiet’. Other points on LOUD find Beato trying his hand at zany Detroit experimentalism (‘Carr’), breakbeats (‘Xioo’), L.I.E.S.-esque scuzz-wave (‘DRGNSL (Greg's Nuance Dub)’) and plenty more.

LOUD is a set of music that comes from a restless mind, and that’s precisely what makes it such a compelling listen.