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David Oppenheim plays drums for the angsty New York-based grindcore duo bARBARA, and for a number of years he's also worked with electronic music on the side. Recorded back in '98, Flat On The Face is the first official release from Mildew, his solo project which stemmed from this dabbling in electronics.

At first I found the direction Oppenheim took with this material a little surprising. The harsh, intense sound that bARBARA pours so much effort into was shed in favor of dark, moody compositions that tactfully wander at a steady, gradual pace. Layers of samples and linear programming focus on the small details and subtleties, creating a complex atmosphere out of simple elements.

The songs sound quite computerized, which gives them a fairly precise and sterile quality. A very static sounding drum machine punctuates each track like a rapid typewriter, with deep, synthesized tones providing the primary melodies. Brief, cut 'n paste guitar samples work their way into the mix at points, which further adds to the clean, inhuman sound.

Flat On The Face is very strong on the composition end of things and a solid demonstration of Oppenheim's programming skills. The disc's only real shortcoming, however, seems to be the lack of diversity within this programming.