Last time we featured Belgian duo, Aerotronic, on The French Shuffle, they brought us the intense, three-track EP, Night Deconstructions Part I. Now, the Teenage Riot stars have made their return with the experimental, yet groovy AM:PM, marking the release of their debut album! With 12 versatile techno jams, the Belgian’s LP takes listeners on a galactic adventure, journeying deep through vast atmospheres, stellar soundscapes and sinister themes.
Leading with The Pilot, the pair give us just a small taste of what’s to come in the following tracks, building up massive anticipation. It seems like Antimony follows the same suit, beginning with tranquility before the storm hits hard – just tune in at 1:35! Next on the tracklist? Fooves. The lovely, at ease composition brings us back to earth with some relaxing, syncopated tech house. What appeals to us most is the powerful drum arrangement – it’s definitely worth playing loud.
Numb signals a transition in the spacial adventure, fusing the wide techno rinse with more tension than the latter songs – it feels very robust and underground in a sense. Then, there’s Night Tales. What starts like a sequel to Numb quickly shifts into an earthquake of a track! Floor-shattering, to say the least. Following up, Interglow shows some respect to the ghetto house/Chicago house genres (so, you can definitely see how Aerotronic made their way onto Teenage Riot).
If you enjoyed Digitalism’s Roller, you’ll certainly love this next one – Motionbreak changes the game, introducing a metallic, old school Daft Punk sound – and, we love it. While the latter shows some love to a classic great, Stracker resembles disco-duo, Oliver, and their synth-powered work – certainly one of our top three favorites. Being so flexible in sound, it seems like Aerotronic also prepped for festival season, delivering a sensational, summertime banger, Gearshift. I could only imagine a DJ Mehdi remix accompanying this release (RIP Mehdi).
Fast Forward and Contemporary take the ferocity back down a notch, stirring up some dance-floor flavor, similar to the third track on the LP, Fooves. And last, but not least, we have The Saint. For us, it’s our favorite, hands-down – not only does the final song encompass the various depths that the album brought us to, but it also bridges the gap between driving electro and tech house, leaving us quite pleased.
All in all, the AM:PM LP is one of the most transformative albums we’ve heard in awhile. The last album we tuned into in one whole sitting was Pendulum’s In Silico a few days ago, so you know this is in good company. Check out the first track of the album, The Pilot, below and show your support for Aerotronic!