Ignition Key

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As one of the DJ/producers who defined the drummy Swedish techno sound of the late '90s, one would expect the debut album by Adam Beyer to be in the harder techno vein, much like albums by his contemporaries Joel Mull and Ben Sims. However, as Beyer began to show on his Stockholm Mix Sessions CD, he knows how to make it work with more reasonably paced Detroit-style techno as well. Many of the 14 tracks on Ignition Key sit comfortably in the 128-bpm range -- perfect for dancing without breaking a sweat. Beyer develops a melodic motif throughout, using a ghostly synth-like wash sound that is creepy in its minor tone yet eloquently fits with these well-done rhythms. Only "Active" approaches the speed of Beyer's normal energetic fare, and the overused vocal sample make you wonder if this track hasn't in fact been sitting on the shelves for a while. Beyer also tries his hand at electro and breakbeat with equally dated results, and the downtempo selections that fill out the back end of the album are mostly uninteresting with the exception of "Bluetone," which surprisingly catches the shuffle of Dabrye, though without the hip-hop references. At a reasonable 65 minutes, Ignition Key is hardly the 80-minute patience test many techno albums become, yet it still feel equal parts excellent techno and disappointing filler.

© Joshua Glazer /TiVo