Album Review: Two Fingers - Stunt Rhythms

Even Amon Tobin thought Two Fingers' debut album was more potential than accomplishment. Originally conceived by Tobin and Joe 'Doubeclick' Chapman as a vehicle to explore an experimental mix of US hip hop production (Neptunes, Timbaland) and UK bass music (dubstep, grime et al), Two Fingers' eponymous 2009 debut was intriguing but oddly soulless.

This could explain why Stunt Rhythms is such a different beast. Instrumental and largely bereft of the sampled percussion and worldly flavours of Two Fingers, Stunt Rhythms is effectively a glitch-hop record – stark, off-kilter beats augmented almost exclusively by earth-shattering bass. Cynics may accuse Tobin of leaping on the bass bandwagon but, regardless of style, it's the producer's best record since 2007's Foley Room.

If nothing else, it's the most fun he's had on record since 2002's Out From Out Where. Tobin doesn't concern himself overly much with composition or mixing. Stunt Rhythms is a raw, unpredictable exercise of groove and noise. Defender Rhythm is a squall of warped synth figures, 101 South's future funk lurches and twinkles in equal measure while Magoo contorts and transforms in perpetuity around a beguilingly simple hip hop hook.

It's not a particularly innovative record. Much of it sounds like harsher, more clever reiterations of Dave Tipper's Wobble Factor era. Still, Tobin's undeniable knack for detail and restless creativity ensures he brings his own personality to proceedings. After listening to the one-time drum'n'bass producer grow increasingly abstract over the past decade, it's really just a relief to hear him bring the ruckus with such enthusiasm.