by Glenn Swan
This is perhaps the most unique pop album available, as seen through the kaleidoscopic lens of Canadian John Oswald, who invented a sampling style called plunderphonics that frequently tips the scales towards copyright infringement. Plexure is built on clever manipulation, everything plus the kitchen sink, blink-and-you'll-miss-it, less-than-a-second edits from literally everyone in pop music over the last decade, and the results add up to a blender full of Top 40 confetti. There are themes here in these unbelievable collages of sound; even new phrases evolve from the sewn-together threads of Billboard hits. The first track, "OPEN (Bo No Ma)" is a cluster of words from the rap genre that hits the ground sprinting and only gets faster as the tracks seamlessly progress, like the Tasmanian Devil drank 14 cups of coffee and raced the bullet train through the Indie 5 million. Madonna and Prince both seem to be prominent figures along the way, but are practically buried under the onslaught of samples from Chicago, Ice-T, C+C Music Factory, Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, U2, Fine Young Cannibals, Janet Jackson, Fishbone, Eurythmics, Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, Paul Simon, Deee-Lite, Talking Heads, Phil Collins, Sinéad O'Connor, the Clash, the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jesus Jones, James Brown, and 712 others. The entire album clocks in at just under 20 minutes, but has easily 40 hours worth of material crammed into it. There are no other similar albums, except those perhaps released by Oswald himself. Plexure may give some people a headache, but others will hang on for dear life and get back in line for another ride.