Porter Ricks

On Symbiotics, two of the best production teams in the field of experimental techno -- PR and Techno Animal -- hook up for a dream gig that surpasses expectations, even for the notoriously critical electronic underground. It all begins with the opener, "Polytoxic 1," an impossibly dense, claustrophobic production that shudders along on a midtempo beat and an ominous bassline pushed far past the redline. Though nothing else on the album equals "Polytoxic 1," there's a lot of great material here, including "Phosphoric" and "Hydrozoid," both excellent productions. At times, however, it's difficult to tell how much interplay actually went on between the two duos -- on a few tracks, Porter Ricks' click-track ambience is simply layered over Techno Animal's thudding beats and echoey percussion. Still, even if they just e-mailed the audio files back and forth, Symbiotics is a dazzling album. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide