File this collection of three EPs by England's Wauvenfold in the 'it doesn't have to be original to be good' category. Noel Murphy and Tom Hill are two guys who more than likely have quite a few Warp releases in their collections, but hell, don't we all? After all, you could do a lot worse for musical inspiration than Autechre, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Squarepusher. Wauvenfold draw from the techniques and textures of each of the Million Pound Quartet at various times, but the sound design never falters, and the beat programming never fails. So while you've heard something like 3fold many times before, it sounds nice to put it on again.
I'm not being totally fair here, actually-- Wauvenfold have a style that rises above mere mimicry. Consistently elevating each of these fourteen tracks above the clones are the pair's ear for melody and sense of musical humor. Instead of recording and presenting their electronic music as a cryptic language informed by experimental mathematics, Wauvenfold are inclined to just kick it and have fun. So the choppy hip-hop beat of "Stab" is paired with an overdriven jungle-style bass tone so ridiculously fat and deep it seems silly. Barely heard above this all-encompassing bottom are some whining horrorcore synths that could be lifted from Dr. Dre's production on "Natural Born Killaz". "Stab" is first-rate cruising music.
Further evidence of Wauvenfold's playful nature comes from the versions of "Clip" that bookend the record. The opening take is a quickie, full of goofy fish percussion, power drill hits, and what sounds like a lot of drawers being opened and closed. It all happens in such an organized and subdued fashion that, when combined with the tinkly keyboard melody, it sounds like Romper Room electronica from a school for gifted children. The closing track is "Clip (Clopt)", recorded live on BBC radio. The pace is quickened by 10% while Wauvenfold add all sorts of tweaks. Cartoon drum-n-bass pops back into the mix, with exaggerated bass and snare rolls, giving the track a slight whiff of genre pisstake, but then the whole thing is so melodic and fun it's easy to just stop analyzing and listen.
Consistently great melodies are the other thing Wauvenfold has to offer, and here's where the BoC comparison is most apt. Tracks like "Selenium Pulse", "Pixel Stitched" and "Slightlyoutofocus" (is that a Boards title or what?) combine skittery electronic percussion with hazy, dreamlike keyboard melodies in a way that gets at the 'comfort in being sad' Cobain sang about all those years ago. Given its considerable virtues, it's easy to forgive 3fold's slight lack of vision. This album is so stereotypically 'IDM' it can almost make you cringe, but the uncomfortable sense of recognition is offset by the quality music.
