Bleep

Medical Records reissue the work of Portland's Paul Nelson, who released 'Vortex' (his only release) back in 1981. Composed on early analogue equipment he amassed over time, its an album of exultant synth-pop and post-punk, robotic drama, just the right amount of rough around the edges. Opening track 'Automated Man' is crisp electro at its finest, bold vocodered voices shot through with space-age bursts of noise. There are more ambient cuts, such as 'Vortex 1', which sounds like the soundtrack to a desolate alien landscape, and more fully formed moments like the low-slung 'Labyrinth'.