ma spaventi: revolver

'Revolver', Most Excellent Unlimited's inaugural release, is something of a Swiss army knife for DJs planning to venture into the wilderness. There's a melancholic, mid-tempo house number, "The Sick Tape Dealer,"that's lit with a crystalline glow. There's "Slowmo," a loping opener that suffuses an andante house groove in queasy Giallocore tones. "Revolver," the record's fastest cut, balances strapping snares and insistent open hi-hats with dreamy chords; it sits on the fence between placid and acid, just the thing for tipping the night into full gear. And the slow-motion tearjerker "La Valle Delle Lacrime"comes in two versions — one with a skeletal drum machine and a beatless edit that revels in the simplicity of his analog synths. Luxuriating in ringing fifths with just a hint of Theremin-like warble, it's an unusually sturdy example of ethereal ambient techno. On remix duties, the prolific Mark E delivers a deep, atmospheric, slow burner in the vein of his recent PROJECT E work.