landau - thepicompromise review from igloo magazine Landau's debut disc for Merck, thepicompromise is the first album in a long time that has kept my head un-still for its entire run of playfully complex, skittering tracks brimming with original textures and melodies that toy with the idea of overexposing too much classic IDM influence, but maintain their composure in that respect. “Six Ways To Sunday” sets the precedent with eager mid-tempo rhythms emerging from static electricity as bright melodies fade in and out expressing their sentiments with somber flute on “Brokenfader Break” and antiqued pads on “Spring Showers.” The jazzy “About Face” could be easily confused with an out-take from Double Figure-era Plaid, yet Landau manage to keep it original with an inventive use of a vocal sample that makes it another piece of the sonic puzzle rather than a separate entity on its own. If truly unique rhythm-contortion with some flair interests you, give “Fondue” a stir and listen as its creamy loops fold and collapse into each other with mind-bending effects. Landau completes their set of collected emotions with the perfectly complex “Independence,” where the best elements of their melodies and rhythms all mesh together for a fitting end to an impressive start. thepicompromise is buttery emotional electronica 6 years in the baking for those of us with a taste for deep dish that fails to disappoint. Call in your order and see for yourself. -John Reveles. landau - thepicompromise review from The Wire Six years in the making - and it sounds like it. This quartet deftly balance acoustic and digital elements to produce smooth, slo-mo Techno occasionally recalling Bjork's Matmos collaborations. Displaying a more developed compositional sense than is the norm, as many surprising moments here occur in the harmonic as in the rhythmic realm. While the beatscapes are programmed with no shortage of the twists and cut-ups that the curious ear craves, tracks like "Thanks A Whole Lot" rely as much on the way their elegant melodies elide and chordal backdrops shift. Arguably a little too tasteful for its own good, perhaps, but a fine achievement all the same. landau - thepicompromise review from allmusic.com At first glitch, this sounds like scores of other releases on Merck, or any other such experimental label that seeks to push the limits without actually breaking them. Funny then by the second track you'd forget that you had ever heard this sort of melodic and subtle machine music, so engulfing is the embrace by this unidentified "conglomerate" or artists. Swaying basslines and finger-snapping hip-hop beats are painted over in watercolor yellows and deep oil-based greens. But not all is utterly beautiful. "Brokenfader Break" stutters and chuckles a menacing chime and weeps the sound of larger reed instruments and "Steppen" give a ghastly wide bass thump to do just that. Most impressive are the odd moments of originality that you didn't even think were possible anymore with this sort of white-bread IDM and odd hi-hat rattle on "You Are a Commodity," which is all it takes to make things stand out from the crowd. Doing things well still has an edge over doing things different. -Joshua Glazer

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