Pictureplane - Thee Physical

I first heard Pictureplane (Travis Egedy) thanks to his HEALTH remixes and so I decided to investigate his work. Slit Red Bird Throat (2007) and Turquoise Trail (2009), bizarre and compelling though they are, were just scratching the surface of what he is capable of compared to his already-proven master remixing capabilities. Dark Rift (2009), rather well-received by critics, served as this artist’s true arrival, outside of his remix notoriety. Pictureplane’s adeptness to manipulate techno electronics in a dark atmosphere has been his signature, so it is no wonder that he is credited with coining “witch house”.

Thee Physical (now available to stream), out 7/19/2011 on Lovepump United, is a surprisingly gimmick-less electronic album, even considering, or perhaps because of, the accompanying manifesto revolving around technology and sexuality. It’s danceable, each track blends nicely into the next, and there are even a few stand-outs, namely the summery, new wave-tinged “Black Nails”, self-explanatory, richly indulgent “Techno Fetish”, wittily named “Trancegender”, and my personal favorite, the cooly haunting “Negative Slave”.

Overall, Thee Physical is satisfying not only for what it is, but what it is not: it’s not another phoned-in dance club album. It’s an album that has a working conceptual framework, not executed in your face, but that simply is.

“The leather on your skin is all that matters.”

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