ex:el

ex:el is 808 State at their most ambitious, Björk and Bernard Sumner guesting, 'Cübik' and 'In Yer Face' pushing the Manchester sound toward something bigger and stranger. It's a record reaching in several directions at once, techno and pop and rave all pulling at it, and the reach mostly pays off. It ranks at a hundred and fifty-six because that breadth costs it some focus, but the highlights are genuinely inventive, and it's the sound of a group refusing to stand still.