Album Review: Autechre - Exai

First and foremost, Autechre are smartarses. Their work is complex, innovative, daring and eclectic but, above all else, they delight in confounding audiences. See, for example, their 1994 production, Flutter, programmed with ten minutes of non-repetitive rhythms, purely to circumvent anti-rave legislation in the UK.

To this end, it's perhaps unsurprising that a sprawling double-album would be one of the esoteric UK duo's most accessible releases in years. Moving away somewhat from the more amorphous and aggressive tactics of their noughties period, Exai is not without its confronting numbers but boasts more concessions to accessibility and contemporary sounds than anyone would have expected from the intractable pair's 11th album.

Awash with drilling rhythms and blasts of sub-bass, opener, Fleure, isn't the kindest of greetings but, like much of the album, it's the closest Autechre have sounded to genre or form in years. In its weird, impressionistic way, it sounds like some kind of fragmented transmission of breakcore. Which is really par for the course for Exai. It sounds like Autechre's damaged cover versions of more populist dance music (techno, hip hop, house, drum'n'bass, et cetera). This is fantastic, obviously. The wealth of material and leftfield distortions may deter listeners but there's a gleeful joy to the record that, when coupled with its persistent invention, proves utterly irresistible. T Ess Xi sounds like Justice falling downstairs at 33rpm. Flep is the sound of a hip hop rhythm getting really, really drunk and trying to dance to jungle. Basically, it's a record of horrendously fractured and hilariously deconstructed dance music.

Many will despise it – but it's arguably the most fun Autechre have ever provided on record.