Idioglossia – Chris Burke

Armed with a sampler, a dated-sounding drum machine, and a wry sense of humor, Chris Burke makes dance music for art students -- or is that art music for dancers? Idioglossa is a selection of collage-work, songs, and plunderphonic weirdness that doesn't always work, but with 29 tracks, most of the pieces finish not a moment too soon. "For L.B.H." could be a rough sketch for a Peter Gabriel Passion track with its faux-marimba pulse and guitar lead, "World of the Deceptikons" samples Ray Milland from "X -- The Man with the X-Ray Eyes" to seriously creepy effect, and "Get Below" is a giddy piece of syncopated madness with samples of children and disembodied television announcers. Burke wears his Negativland influence on his sleeve, but pushes it trying to make some comments on media in America -- he's much better with the incongruity of mixed up samples. Undoing a lot of the album is the lack of interest shown the drum tracks, which remain the same throughout. At best, Idioglossa surprises with its juxtapositions; at worst, these tracks sound like demo songs for a new synthesizer and sequencer. ~ Ted Mills, All Music Guide