Chicago's
RXM Reality (
Mike Meegan) builds dense, frantic tracks filled with pummeling, overdriven rhythms. While some of his earlier tapes were more recognizably rooted in house music, albeit damaged and distorted, 2019's
Devil World Wide resembles a disastrous pile-up of industrial, IDM, techno, and footwork, yet it manages to hold together as a puzzling but unmistakably powerful entity. While it isn't easily danceable,
Meegan is clearly familiar with the vanguard of late 2010s club culture, and his chaotic genre amalgamation is utterly transfixing. "I'm a Switch" has traces of a decimated pop tune under its jagged rhythm, and other tunes sound like dancehall drilled into oblivion. On some of the most dazzling tracks like "Neck Up," bleary melodies seem to struggle to be heard through the wreckage. "Down on My Knees" is absolutely apocalyptic, emerging from clattering debris and forming the soundtrack to a footwork battle which turns out to be a fight for survival. At times approaching the musical equivalent of a bullet hell video game,
Devil World Wide is both overwhelming and electrifying. ~ Paul Simpson
