Progress

by Jason BirchmeierDon't overlook this album's revealing title, Progress. Alexander Kowalski released an impressive debut full-length a year earlier in 2001, Echoes, that found him perfecting a murky yet buoyant style of dub-house that was just as foreboding and emotive as his early techno productions as Double X and DisX3, yet more accessible, being rooted quite obviously in the age-old house tradition. Rather than return to that same style, which admittedly sounded dazzling, he spreads out here on his second album, returning to the techno aesthetic he initially made a name for himself with. There's plenty of variety among the several tracks, many of which evolve in quite curious directions. Because of this album's emphasis on songs that evolve continually from one minute to the next, it's more of a listener-orientated album than a DJ tool. Nonetheless, skilled DJs will find ways to tame these often wild tracks, and they most certainly should since the rhythms driving these tracks are no doubt dancefloor-ready. Overall, however, this album is intended to be a showcase of Kowalski's abilities as a producer; with every track you get the sense he's trying to show off just how creative he is, taking the tracks in unexpected directions.