R Plus Seven

Oneohtrix Point Never is the kind of artist who is more admired than really loved. His music is caustic, frenetic, and irritatingly intellectual. I played a track from his latest album, Age Of, on my radio show a couple months ago, and regretted it immediately.

Listening to that track, however, caused me to rediscover an older album of his which is worthier of our attention: R Plus Seven, from 2013. It still sounds like a Oneohtrix Point Never album, with moments of baffling intellectualism, but the soundscapes which he develops are so compelling that one can’t help but enjoy them anyway.

The opening track is mesmerizing: sustained notes on the organ, light tapping in the background, and then rolling arpeggios on the synthesizer. It blends seamlessly into “Americans,” a pastiche of vocal samples and noise which is somehow held together by some tapping on the xylophone. Later in the album, “Zebra” opens with a wonderfully crisp sound that dissolves into ashes.

I would recommend this to anyone in an adventurous mood. The return on the time that you’ll invest is much higher than on Oneohtrix Point Never’s current work.