Dirty Dozen

Album Review

Containing the entirety of material already released on EPs Cash and Half Dozen, as well as two previously unreleased tracks, Dirty Dozen is a concise and fairly complete summary of beatmonger Edgar Farinas' early outings as Push Button Objects, one that suggests his fascination with both the trebly East Coast hip-hop snare and the potentials of digital sound processing. As with opener "Lockligger," which frames a De La Soul vocal sample in a dark thicket of skiffly, chewed-up beats, and "Macabea," which pits a firm breakbeat against a revolving door of receding synth pads, gymnastic blips, and skittering counter-rhythms, Dirty Dozen's best moments arise from its counterpointing of hip-hop and laptop elements. In contrast, Farinas' more straightforward electronic compositions are less exciting; although texturally impressive (both "Pboory" and "Chewbacca on Crack" contain some genuinely unique sounds), most of his remaining tracks are painfully light on motifs and often inessential. This is a mixed bag overall.