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ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC

Essential New Music: Cavern Of Anti-Matter’s “Void Beats Invocation Trex”

Cavern

Cavern Of Anti-Matter is the new Berlin-based band from Stereolab’s Tim Gane, with synth specialist Holger Zapf and Stereolab drummer Joe Dilworth. Void Beats Invocation Trex is full of motorik propulsion and two-chord patterns that either gradually morph or abruptly shift. The 72-minute album is mostly instrumental, aside from brief vocals from Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox and Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom.

Stereolab fans will find a few moments of nostalgic satisfaction: The relentless “Insect Fear” recalls Mars Audiac Quintet; the smooth “Echolalia,” Dots And Loops; and the title of “Melody In High Feedback Tones” is in the self-explanatory lineage of Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements. But this isn’t ersatz ’Lab. Cavern Of Anti-Matter focuses on abstraction and electronic manipulation on tracks that often stretch upward of eight minutes. Stereolab junkies looking for a new fix would be better served with recent albums from Gane’s former partner Laetitia Sadier; but on its own terms, Void Beats Invocation Trex is a Cavern worth exploring.

—Steve Klinge