The Future Sound Of Pluto? Don't be deceived by the misleading album title -- this is truly riot cyborrrg, the strangled cries of abused programming software creating a blissed-out, robotronic orgy of rhythm and noise. Tracks like opener "Bad Touch" or "Am I Hip Yet?" seethe with an exhausting, reckless restlessness -- the result of a genetic engineering miracle that combined the mutant DNA of music visionaries like Carl Stalling, Prefuse 73, Max Roach and Squarepusher. The "one-man drum corps and supercomputer" entity behind this astounding sound creature fuses breakcore, IDM, glitch-hop, musique concrète, various forms of drum 'n' bass, jazz rock, electroacoustic soundscaping and phat, funky turntable action with an admirable disregard for logic, resulting in one of those few, treasured occasions when a rock-crit can actually use of the phrase "future jazz" without feeling like he's bullshitting the readers. "I Gotta Finish My Letter To Jodie Foster" and "The All Night Coke Jags And Cheap Hotels" (note to Kid 606: you're not the only funny guy on the scene anymore, dawg) gleefully bungee-jump from style to style with the noisiest, funkiest extravagance; it'll make you wonder if they somehow fed the entire Sun Ra catalog (or at least the titles) into HAL 9000's central processor and routed the output through a vintage Colecovision. Good ol' Sunny would be proud to learn that DJ Methodikal is carrying his torch.

- Marco Rivera, Splendid

DJ Methodikal's Alarmingly Lo-Fi is described as a "challenging collection of gritty, intensely rhythmic electronic assaults." Typically, self-written material is way off the mark, inserting "exciting" where "boring" should be and calling anything that isn’t really very good "innovative." But man, this one hit the nail on the head.

The album starts off with "Bad Touch." A heavily synthesized voice counts to four, and the assault begins. The drums are twisted and mechanical, the cymbals are sharpened to knife points, and the gentle bleeps and bloops that normally accompany – uh, whatever kind of music this is – are drenched in acid. My first impulse was to describe DJ Methodikal as instrumental hip-hop, but his music is really more like techno, only supercharged and serrated.

"This Man Does Things He’s Not Proud Of" picks off right where "Bad Touch" left off, flying off the handle and only barely holding onto any semblance of melody. "You Be Bad" is driven by a more digestible beat; the drums hold a sensible rhythm and are joined by transcendent crash cymbals. "I’m Bucking for First Chair" slows down the pace a bit (to sprain-neck rather than break-neck) but really never goes anywhere. And by the way, all the songs are starting to sound similar.

"I Gotta Finish My Letter to Jodie Foster" is even worse; DJ Methodikal drops any semblance of a melody, opting instead for cascading waves of abrasive noise. Now I’m at "If Ya Get Near a Song Play It," and I swear I’ve heard this song earlier on the album – really, not just a song like it, but this exact song. Maybe it’s true, or maybe the grating noises that litter the landscape of every song on Alarmingly Lo-Fi have finally burned themselves into my skull, burning my neural circuitry and skipping like a broken CD player.

Perhaps it’s not fair that I am reviewing this album. After all, I’m coming into it with certain preconceptions about music. I can handle my share of deviations from perfect pitch and fluid melody, but in general, I want listening to music to be a pleasant experience. I’ve been duly warned by the artist and by the album’s name itself, but still, I’d rather not have to listen to an album that dares me to back down. I’ll leave this one for the more adventurous among us.

- Sandy Boer, Delusions of Adequacy

Aggressive and spastic - crunchy beats and funked out rhythms. Reminds me a little of Kid 606, without the massive attitude, due to the street attitude and slightly hip-hop feel. This isn't a rap album, though, it falls squarely in the electronic/techo realm. Maybe throw in a touch of the Digital Hardcore sound, what with all the distortion here, but way more complicated and full than those guys from Germany can do, and with far more swing. Definitely fun and good for a friday night blow-out. A touch of other instruments other than just computers sneak through here and there - John Zorn style sax appears subtly on a couple of tracks(how does zorn and subtle fit together, I dunno...) I really like the beats here - quirky as all get out and super motivating, distorted and tweaked till the cows came home. And, when you read the credits, you see the lucky bastard even has someone helping with catering, and, well, there are photos of someone eating donuts next to the credits, so I guess someone had to go to Dunkin' Donuts....

- Don Poe, Ear Rational

One of those albums where the title really does tell it like it is. This isn't a collection of hip hop grooves. It's a warped assortment of distorted electronic melodies and old-school digital hardcore beats.

Yes, yes, it's all been done before. And probably with a bit more manic intensity. Still, I haven't heard anything this engaging on this front in quite a while. DJ Methodikal (another appropriate moniker) knows how to make the speakers throb in a most engaging manner.

Lo-fi? Actually, no. Just a lot of distortion. The sound is shiny and not entirely without character. There are shades in this world, even if they are fairly stark. Think of it as a well-appointed digital hardcore flat.

I have always been attracted to manic beatsmithing combined with often-incomprehensible noise. DJ Methodikal actually keeps most of his melodies within the realms of the physical world, but there's plenty of noise and power to make me happy. Very happy, in fact.

- Jon Worley, Aiding & Abetting

Not much information is given about DJ Methodikal, but basically it's one guy, one drumcomputer and a computer. The label describes as something that is linked to post-IDM, Pierre Schaeffer and Techno Animal - and that covers about anything in electronic in the say the last sixty years. The eleven tracks on this fifty minute CD leaves the listener paralyzed in his chair - or down on the dancefloor. Breakbeats form the major part of this CD, with weird sounds flying in and out of the mix. This is heavy duty music. As a none-dancer I dare not imagine people could actually dance to this lot, but maybe I wrong. The beats are super fast, but spliced together with great care, almost methodical. Certainly not music that is easy to digest, as things fly by with great speed and a healthy dose of aggression. A moment of rest is much needed after this, even when the final two tracks are relatively calm...

- FdW, Vital Weekly