Sustainer is Barcelona electronic music artist Alex Alarcon. Cuántico is his latest release on Italic Records, the label which has released several favorites of mine including Borneo & Sporenburg, A Rocket In Dub, and Antonelli Electr., including Vogue, the one off collaboration song he recorded with Miss Kittin. Vogue can be found on both the Italic compilation 'Dancer' and the 'Mezzanine de L'Alcazar Volume 2' compilation from France.

There are 8 low key instrumental tracks on Cuántico. The sound is consistent with other Italic releases. An electronic dub sound with a beat. The packaging of the CD fits well with the sounds within. While many minimal tech-house releases have no information or art, Cuántico has no information, but very nice art. The booklet has eight panels with gold line drawings of intricate organic crystalline shapes on white background. The only text is the title of the drawing, which is also the title of the track. The choice of art is very appropriate for the sound within. The art makes me think of the line drawings of animals that O'Reilly computer books have used as book covers for years.

Alex Alarcon's music sounds crystalline. The music unfolds with subtle changes. It is repetitive to the casual listener, but intricate when examined closely. I have enjoyed this CD while working on the computer, and while driving on rainy days here in Boston (and there have been MANY of those lately).

My favorite tracks are Dinámica and Sólido. Both have a dubby feel with clean snappy electronics and a rapid beat. These songs have become my favorites because they stand out from their neighbors on the CD. However, every song on the disc works well, and the disc is a joy to listen to all the way through in a sitting.