Particle’s debut, Launchpad (Or Music), fits into the imaginary category the band dubs “Space Porn.” (Roll eyes here.) The opening title track certainly bears hallmarks of porn soundtracks (of which I have much firsthand knowledge): chikka-wah guitar flourishes, Velveeta-encrusted synth vamping, thrusting four-on-the-floor beats (more disco-fied than funky), bass lines that throb like John Holmes’ member, etc. All of which prompt me to question my editor’s sanity in assigning this disc for review. I love ya, Chris, but maybe you temporarily confused JazzTimes with High Times. It happens. Anyway, this L.A. quartet goes down a storm at jam-band fests with its circuitous, psychedelic improvisations that open the mystical third leg… uh, eye. Producer Tom Rothrock (Beck, Foo Fighters) gives Particle’s eventful, rococo grooves a sparkling sheen more apropos for outdoor raves than for intimate, smoky nightclubs. Yes, Launchpad’s all about ecstasy–sexual and otherwise.
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