Beethoven On Acid

Mu-Ziq has followed the same trail as pal Richard D. James (Aphex Twin.) But instead of retiring in 199, Mu-Ziq, aka Mike Paradinas, released another album - his most surreal and unimaginative yet.

Here is a breakdown track-by-track:

1. Scaling - Starts out with strings but slowly evolves into a slow techno beat. Good.

2. The Hwicci Song - Where did this title come from. Weird, but OK. Nothing special.

3. Autumn Acid - All right, something with a beat. Fact paced, this is classic Mu-Ziq. The title fits the song.

4. Slice - Hard to describe this song. But it's good.

5. Carpet Muncher - Another classic track. The background does sound like a carpet muncher, whatever that is. Slow, slick and funky.

6. The Motorbike Track - Mu-Ziq's take on hip hop? Anywho, it's cool.

7. Mentim - Just pounding the synthesizer. Nothing.

8. The Fear - Ground-breaking. The flute, the voice (yes, a voice!) and the whole structure. Great for a soundtrack.

9. Gruber's Mandolin - Do do do do... sounds like a mandolin. Like Mentim, but more thought out.

10. World Of Leather - Like The Motorbike Track, this is a slick track here. A bit goofy, but slick.

11. Scrape - A simple string ensemble. Sounds cool though. A nice little intermission.

12. 56 - ?

13. Burst Your Arm - Nice IDM, but sounds like more of a sell-out track. Great for the club.

14. Goodbye, Goodbye - A good "farewell" track, but as anything else... bleh.

From those pain-staking track-by-track views, Royal Astronomy is a IDM classic, no matter kooky.