Ultra-Red - Structural Adjustment (CD)

All Music Guide

An album of recorded real-life sounds assembled collage-style with a clicks + cuts aesthetic, Ultra-Red's Structural Adjustments functions primarily as a cerebral venture into aural conceptual art. It's often hypnotic, particularly during tracks such as "Mentirosos," when an unenthusiastic speaker gets his speech sliced and diced, and also during other tracks such as "Nunca (Spatial Deconcentration)," where snippets of human voices appear filtered in a jarring mess of computerized sounds. Unfortunately, without any hint of rhythm or melody, this isn't very beautiful music and doesn't exactly inspire a second play; in fact, its downright sense of coldness can seem quite scary. In the end, it's hard to argue with Ultra-Red's aesthetic: they seem to have a mastery of their craft. Still, it's just not an enjoyable listen.

- Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide