Uberbyte- DOS

ARTIST: Uberbyte

ALBUM: DOS

LABEL: Crunch Pod

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 2-11-10

On their second album, London's Uberbyte expand and cement their sound. Though still rooted in the hard, techno-fueled EBM of acts like Combichrist and Reaper, the British act's sophomore album is more original, with fresher sequences fueling tracks like "Soma" and "Last Human" and samples from such cult films as "Brazil" and "Pulp Fiction" adding intrigue to the minimalist "Time and Paper" and the catchy "Say What??" and making for a nice change from the usual overused horror and science fiction movies. Project mastermind Uberman's sinister vocals play a large role on some of the best tracks, decadently drawled on "The Gift" and whispered sneeringly over the slick beats of "Rewind," but it's the female-fronted "Industrial Bitch" that is the album's most likely club hit. A parody of (or perhaps an homage to) the girls of the club scene, it's catchy, funny, and most importantly, dance floor-friendly, full of pounding kicks and propulsive trance leads. Similarly amusing is "(Let's Put the Fun in) Fundamentalist," which juxtaposes what sounds like an actual fire and brimstone sermon with samples from "South Park," then layers the whole thing over a crunchy, speaker-damaging breakbeat. A fun release that doesn't take anything too seriously except its mission to move bodies on the dance floor, this release perhaps less memorable than Uberbyte's debut, but it's a much more even release that succeeds admirably at its goals.

Visit Uberbyte's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/uberbyte for more information.