Review
Oneohtrix Point Never's sixth studio album, "R Plus Seven," released on September 30, 2013, boldly ventures into the realm of experimental electronic music. Diverging significantly from Lopatin's previous work, particularly 2011's "Replica," this album eschews sample-based techniques in favor of MIDI instruments, 1980s synth presets, and VSTs. By constructing pithy bursts of information and approximating common instruments with a synthetic touch, Lopatin crafts a soundscape that is at once meticulously clean and emotionally rich. The aesthetic is decisively rooted in the nascent era of personal computing, invoking a blend of innocent futurism and subtle critique of technological salvation.
Tracks such as "Americans" and "Chrome Country" incorporate gossamer digitized voices reminiscent of the Fairlight synthesizer, amplifying the album's ethereal quality. In balancing the real and the virtual, "R Plus Seven" evokes comparisons to the 1980 Jon Hassell and Brian Eno collaboration, "Fourth World: Possible Musics," which sought to meld ancient tribal sounds with contemporary technology. The album received an enthusiastically positive reception, averaging a score of 81 on Metacritic, and was featured on several critics' year-end lists. Additionally, it achieved a peak position of number 11 on the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. This work underscores Lopatin's continual artistic evolution, affirming his distinctive and ambitious musical identity. - Riven
