Overseer - Wreckage (2003)

genre: breakbeat, progressive house, hip-hop, trip-hop
1. Slayed
2. Stompbox
3. Supermoves
4. Velocity Shift
5. Horndog
6. Meteorology
7. Aquaplane
8. Doomsday
9. Basstrap
10. Sparks
11. Never

Rob Overseer, aka Overseer, is a Yorkshire-dwelling DJ/producer and is one of the more obscure names among his contemporaries in big beat music. Although he's contributed to the soundtracks of Animatrix, Snatch and Gran Turismo 3, this album (so far his only full-length effort) was a critical and commercial disaster upon release, being delayed as it was by six months due to a few problems with the management. As a result, the album was pretty much not promoted at all and just cast off by the powers that be as dated big beat. Needless to say, what with its being flagged up here and all, it's just one more example of the press being full of crap when it comes to musical criticism, the big flaw in their argument being that, while it certainly in here to be seen, Wreckage simply isn't just one, rusty, dated big beat package.

In actual fact, it's among the most eclectic electronic albums of the last ten years and, consequently, one that massively rewards repeated listenings. If there's a common ground beneath it all, it's the interesting use of hard-rocking riffs and solid, synthetic beats as on the fantastic opener, Slayed, one of many tracks to feature Zak Speakerfreak rapping about declaring 'war on stupidity' and 'the fakers, the piss-takers and the sucker money-makers'. Top follow it up, Stompbox makes use of the same vocalist but this time takes on a much more furious pace and featuring some terrific breaks from Rob Overseer himself, serving up another album highlight. Supermoves, which a few of may remember from the Snatch soundtrack, keeps the buzzing, hyperactive breakbeat tempo going, featuring the same kinds of breaks as Stompbox before and Velocity Shift after it, as the album serves up yet another tune that refuses to let you sit down. To put the lid on the faster section of the album, Horndog is another great tune which utilises the combination of big beats and guitar riffs wonderfully. It was also the spectacular flop of the single release from the album as well.

From there, we move on to the more obviously IDM, even a little trip-hoppy part of the tracklisting, starting with the down-tempo Meteorology, which not only features the soothing vocals of one Sandra Pehrsson but also a silky string arrangement to compliment the laid-back vibe about the whole thing. Another absolutely superb tune then, and one that doesn't sound a whole lot unlike something the Thievery Corporation would write. The same can be said of the following Aquaplane which is another definite highlight, being a maze of dubby bass, sound affects and reverbs, simple piano lines and labyrinthine vocal treatments. An absolute favourite this one.

After that mid-section down-tempo/dub foray, we get right back into familiar territory again with the metallic riff used in Doomsday preceding another catchy-as-hell synthetic rhythm and some superb rapping from MC Nick Life. Basstrap lacks the guitars but serves more or less the same purpose as the track before, being of the same kind of tempo though slightly more synth and bass-heavy (as the title may or may not suggest). Some more top-drawer rapping as well.

So far the slower, trip-hop-reminiscent moments on the album have all provided highlights, and that's exactly what can be said of Sparks, featuring the vocal talents of singer-songwriter Rachel Gray. Never sees the album end on a more sinister note, making use of live as well as synthesized strings and the gritty vocal of Jakk Frost and the honey-like sweetnes of Sandra Pehrsson's. It's a great track to just roll most of the elements of a fairly diverse album into one, seven minute-long track.

And therein lies the strength of Wreckage that a lot of the press failed to pick up at the time of release, or at least one of them, and that's the eclectic mixture of big beats, metallic riffs, hip-hop vocals, down-tempo and even ambient and dub in places over the length of eleven great tracks. There's also the sheer talent of one Rob Overseer in his ability to bring all those styles together in one, seamless package - one that can go from thought-provoking to sinister, to fun, to chilled-out, to stoned and so on. One of the finest albums of the decade without a doubt.

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