For a long time, as Dirk Bittner and Jan Müller explain in the liner notes, nobody seemed interested in the tracks they recorded as Bloop in the 1990s. This seems to have changed now, since, after a couple of self-released digital reissues, the Brussels label Pinguin Society has taken on Delirious »Allusion«. The 12″ vinyl includes both the original and its »Mix Ahead« version, as well as the previously unreleased »Robotic Operation«, also from the 1990s.
The inevitable question is: Why? Do Bittner and Müller simply get on well with the label, or is the Belgian capital once again demonstrating a keen sense when it comes to micro-trends? The title track, it soon becomes clear, hits the Zeitgeist with remarkable accuracy almost three decades after its initial release. Jittery strings and an organic beat that would sound strikingly like a hard groove revival if it were a few beats faster combine with a muted voice to create just the drive needed for a polished descent as propagated by the likes of Sound Metaphors. The alternative version, on the other hand, could almost pass for an accelerated, focused dub if it weren’t for the dominant acid lines, which get thicker and thicker after almost two minutes and derive a disarming charm from their very purpose. Two strong versions that justify the purchase—the crude B-side »Robotic Operation« can hardly be described as that.
