Peter Van Hoesen - Entropic City

 

PETER VAN HOESEN - ENTROPIC CITY

(Time to Express)

Garnering praise from such corners as Pitchfork and Resident Advisor, Belgian producer Peter van Hoesen has one of the hottest names in techno.  A series of bouncy, energetic EPs on Komisch and self-owned label Time to Express surely set expectations high for debut album ‘Entropic City.’  While much of what made van Hoesen’s name can be found here, the aggregate result is a bit underwhelming.   

Van Hoesen is at his best when looking to the stars for inspiration. Album opener “Into Entropy” is dark, slow techno.  Unlike much of the album, this one is far better suited to headphones than club speakers.  It would also do well in an ambient set.  Tonally rich and hypnotic, the track suggests images of deep space, brilliant nebulae and alien worlds. “Closing the Distance/Toy Universe” brings Ben Klock to mind, were he to put out a record for Metroplex.  It’s nicely slow-paced, deep and successfully evokes the wonder one feels when gazing upon a night sky awash with bright stars.  “Colony/Return of the Object” continues with the astronomical theme, set to a nicely syncopated broken beat. “Quartz #1” shifts the gears of inspiration to Fred Giannelli’s Kooky Scientist output, but in a way that’s both successful and consistent with the album’s other high points. 

He also supplies a couple dance tracks that appear to be heavily influenced by Cari Lekebusch, and particularly by his early output on Hybrid. “Dystopic Romance” does a good job of capturing the energy of its source material, and introduces some nice synths at the 4 minute mark. “Terminal” is even better, hypnotic and spacey.  

Unfortunately, the rest of album is made up of B-sides. “Defense against the self” would fit nicely in a lively tech-house set, but isn’t really all that interesting to listen to on its own.  “Republic” is a chuggy Chain Reaction clone that never really takes off.  “Strip it, Boost it” is another competent Hybrid-style track, but which lacks the panache of its counterparts. “Testing a Simulacrum” is okay IDM, but not better than okay.

To sum, I neither loved nor hated ‘Entropic City.’  It certainly has its moments, but it doesn’t offer more than the sum of its parts—which are a bit uneven to begin with—and, as such, doesn’t really work as an album.  There is enough quality, though, to ensure that I’m still eager to hear what comes next from van Hoesen. 

Gustav Brown