A follow-up to the Volume Objects 12K album release that arrived at the very beginning of the year, Autistici's Complex Tone Test continues to explore a broad spectrum of electroacoustic phenomena, derived from digital, instrumental and naturally occurring sounds. 'Key For A Lockable Cabinet' is an especially striking confluence of these elements, sounding like a study of intermingled woodwind, mellotron and environmental crackle while preserving the implicitly melodic qualities that illuminated the 12K long-player. Delving into more synthetic areas of sound design 'Meticule' takes pulsing oscillations and layers them into a Raster Noton-like network of more rigid glitch rhythms, setting the whole thing off into an escalating, motorised pattern that acquires a thudding backbeat for a few moments. Following this unexpectedly robust sequence of events, 'Resonating Wire' brings us back to a delicate microsound universe, characterised by close-miced, atomised percussive gstures, gauzy beams of hiss and eventually, some rather lovely bowed strings. As the album continues it seems to alternate between strict experimentalism and more ornamental sound designs, striking up a smart balance between the head-flooding machinations of 'La Spaziale S1 Vivaldi' and the prettier, more decorative likes of 'Meadow Bed'. Two of the finest pieces arrive late on: Disintegrated Interest' is a relatively short dissection of instrumental sources, reminiscent of early academic tape music, while 'Annualized Light' is a delightful ear massage that incorporates thin, elastic synth textures continuously panning far-left to far-right while processed recordings of sneezes, speech and electronic tones fill the space in between. Excellent. (boomkat.com)