Review Summary: Just another Venetian Snares EP
After nearly two years of being a proud listener of Venetian Snares, I’ve come to conclusion that Aaron Funk has toned it down immensely; not general music per say, but originality and creativity wise. His recent full lengths haven't been exactly enjoyable, but rather boring and tedious. I mean, he’s organized some hefty experimentation over the past 5-6 years like the Jungle/Dub soaked ‘Detrimentalist’ and the gorgeous classical/IDM driven ‘Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett’, but his overall gist has solely remained in the breakcore and IDM field. While not necessarily bad thing, he’s seemingly remained inside a husk, and hasn’t made an effort to break out of the case. ‘Affectionate’ still hasn’t really proved to us he can perform this task in a pleasing manner.
There really isn’t much to be said about this album other than the fact Venetian Snares is still chugging along, and that’s honestly about it. The piece has its moments, but it feels like yet another Venetian Snares release. I mean, nothing really new or groundbreaking is encountered here. Standardized breakbeats and some other conducted melodies are both prominent when listening, but together they aren’t anything too grasping. There are only 4 tracks, but for an EP they don’t really stand out. Don’t take this the wrong way though, they aren’t awful whatsoever, but they are rather bleak and dissonant compared to most of his strongest material. ‘Lesbian1’ and ‘Lesbian2’ are probably the best tracks on here. They both have interesting progression and rabid glitch noises that overlay a cool melody. Added together, these tracks are what give the album its 3, and don’t facilitate any more with what’s given.
Despite all of this, ‘Affectionate’ still contains Venetian Snares, but not in a refined way. It’s definitely not Venetian Snares climbing any new heights, but it’s also him not falling either. The rest of his discography certainly kills this EP, but it doesn’t entitle he’s finished making music. While there’s nothing too creative or awe-inspiring here, it signals Venetian Snares is still prevailing.
He’s also due out with 2-3 new EP’s and hopefully an LP later this year.
