by François CoutureThe first important thing to understand about Endless is that it has been credited to the names of Mika Vainio, Ilpo Väisänen, and Alan Vega, not Pan Sonic and Vega. The Scandinavian duo has constructed minimal techno songs. They may be full of clicks, glitches, and buzzes, but they still are songs, following a strongly rhythmic architecture. Ambient techno this is not, nor mere backgrounds for Suicide singer Vega to read his words over. His vocal delivery could be described as gripping or utterly annoying, depending solely on the listener's interest in spoken words. Although the technology has changed considerably, the synthesizers from the 1980s having been replaced by computer generated glitch electronica, Endless sounds a lot like Anne Clark's early albums, at least in spirit. The bleak atmospheres fit the tortured lyrics. This is a good collaboration where each side met the other one halfway, the resulting music belonging to neither's usual sound. Fans of Pan Sonic can expect to be destabilized. But once you get used to the song format and the singer's voice (especially if you never heard him before), you start to notice what the music actually is and how it has been pieced together. Experimental techno meets the cold wave. Meditate on that and you'll know if this one's right for you.