The name Milemarker might not mean much to you now, but by the end of this year they could be so unstoppably huge that neither man nor beast, nor even insect dares cross their path for fear of being devoured whole. The latest addition to the Jade Tree family not only has the skills, but the vision, courage and desire to stage a full-on coup of the musical world as we know it. A world run by Milemarker would indeed be a wonderful place to frolic amongst the scrap heaps, de-program malfunctioning robots and mate with the occasional steel grasshopper.
Anaesthetic is the sound of automatons rocking out so hard they break through their polyurethane skins, exposing their frazzled circuitry and aluminum skeletons for the entire world to see. It is a caliginous journey through a time and a place where roving gangs of androids rule the streets and humans are forced to dwell in the underground -- the perfect soundtrack to Neil Gaiman’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece, Neverwhere.
Milemarker’s music has been permeated by a hypothermic sheen ever since their debut, Future Isms. That air of chilly perfection is what sets them apart from the majority of their hardcore brethren; they are, in truth, closer in practice to many electronic acts than to their nominal peers. "Ant Architect", for instance, has all the diabolical energy and warped convalescence of Aphex Twin or Squarepusher, the only difference being that Milemarker’s music is refracted through a decidedly hardcore loupe as opposed to the aforementioned artists’ techno-centric prism. As you may have already guessed, keyboard-derived textures dominate Anaesthetic, making keyboardist/tape loop operator/vocalist Roby Newton one busy lady. Her impish synth leads and icy cool vocal turns are the core of the record, not to mention the driving force behind opener "Shrink to Fit" and the breathtaking sci-fi opera "Food for Worms". The boys strike back on the sprawling "A Quick Trip to the Clinic", a song whose gargantuan proportions are eclipsed only by the skill and dexterity by which it is delivered. While it clearly demonstrates their epic intentions and unerringly clever mindset, above all else, Anaesthetic proves that Milemarker’s genre-splicing dye job is not quite complete; their hardcore roots are still showing, though they’re much less noticeable, fading more with each new release.
One listen to Anaesthetic and you’ll agree that living underground and mating with metal grasshoppers doesn’t sound like such a bad future after all.
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