3:33: The First Thousand Days (Parallel Thought, 6/21/11)
Just two months ago, mysterious, experimental electronic group 3:33 released its debut album, 333LP1. Its follow-up, to be released tomorrow, has an uncharacteristically communicative title — The First Thousand Days (Bandcamp) — but the group’s mechanical, idiosyncratic number/letter combinations are still present in the track list.
Though 3:33 has worked with rappers in the past (MF Doom, Del / Tame One), the new record is barely classifiable as instrumental hip hop. Its dark, synth-based compositions are reminiscent of a stripped-down Endtroducing-era DJ Shadow with more erratic, lo-fi percussion and elements of drone. Except for the closer, “P9,” all of the tracks run less than four minutes — a brief but harrowing journey through echoey soundscapes filled with cymbal crashes and deep bass.