Black Dice: Repo

On its fifth studio album, Black Dice once again explores the depths of a hell populated by demonic gnomes. Though surely aware that only so many people have the tolerance for such formless sonic tomfoolery, the group tests the limits of even those that do: Repo is its most bizarre disc yet. But it’s also, strangely, the most accessible; by keeping experiments wrapped up in concise, musically digestible nuggets of rhythm, Black Dice launches an attack on the ears worth sticking around for. It’s a cacophony of ideas, but something new pops up with each listen. Certainly, as with every Black Dice album, there’s a lot of aural junk floating from beginning to end. The game is in discovering the rewardingly fun tidbits buried underneath, like sifting for gold. There are a number of hidden payoffs: “Glazin” has a nifty, warped dance beat that exists more in the imagination, as the band refuses to ever let it completely breathe, but ends up being one of the rare Black Dice songs that promotes foot-tapping; “Lazy TV” is like a malfunctioning 8-bit Nintendo game, one you want to play so bad that you don’t care that the picture is flickering. Similarly, Repo is initially frustrating, but a good time for those who can embrace its imperfections.