The delightfully named 'Super Death Explosion Kittens' (surely there's an idea for a Japanese game-show there) is the new EP from Achenar, the brainchild of sunny Aviemore-based Duncan Hemingway. With a view to avoiding the usual genre restrictions, Achenar has delivered a mish mash of traditional instruments and electronic sounds via a myriad of influences. Like the name suggests, the sound is dark one, yet Duncan must be having an element of bizarre fun within.

Listening to 'Super Death Explosion Kittens' is complicated work. At times I am not really sure what is going on, but I am attempting to get around it. Usually, perhaps, this type of sound would find its way into those dark bits of a computer game based around hell, or a violent horror with a good element total annihilation. That's how it sounds to me anyway.

The EP begins in an electro-industrial, almost schizophrenic manner with 'Rise, Minions!' and I am instantly reminded of that old game (was it on the mega-CD, shit how old is that?) Rise of the Robots. Plainly because the song title mixed with the mesh of robotic sounds here doesn't allow my brain to move much further. It sounds like an armour-clad knight is having an epileptic fit in a dustbin.

'Vocal Opposition' offers a continuation of this sound, but does indeed develop throughout, becoming something a bit more rhythmic. And through the disjointed electronics you can almost hear what sound like crunching guitars under a tin-snare until we roll storm in to 'The Enthralled', leaving destruction in our wake. By this point there is something more familiarly metal about it, helped on by the deep-growling vocals. It is more structured, with a slow, pacing vibe.

The tracks bleed in to one another like one complete musical score, so that it offers up separate parts of the same irreality with varied forays in to what eventually feels like the same emotion. The brief moment of light relief of 'Liberation' helps to break up the EP somewhat which does tend to drift away from my attention. The twisted dance of some half-man, half-machine hybrid loses a measure of its novelty until the closer 'Born Into Steam', after the initial sci-fi/horror atmosphere, conjures up something reminiscent of various moments of Depeche Mode's 'Violator'.

'Super Death Explosion Kittens' is somewhat of an electronic experimental journey. It is not for the light hearted, although it does have its element of fun. If you want something awkward to listen to whilst playing online games where you kill furry animals, this might just be the ticket.

www.earthenrecords.com