Lately there's been an outpouring of new [A]pendics.Shuffle material. The 'Helicopter Hearts' full-length (Orac) and the 'Rampant Passenger' (Mo's Ferry Productions), 'Hot Guardian' and the 'Freestyle Formula' (Adjunct), and 'Re-Fried Monument' (Budenzauber) EPs come to mind - which makes the new Persistencebit release 'Group Trivia' an all the more special and invaluable addition to the [A]pendics.shuffle discography. You see, the EPs three tracks were created between 2003 and 2005 at Kenneth James Gibson's Echo Park, California studio (out of which he moved about a year ago) and, sounding anything but stale, exude a refreshingly poppy vibe that's noticeably downplayed in the darker material currently making the electronic rounds. 'Group Trivia' isn't wholly different, however-its 'computer funk' is just as quirky and micro-detailed as Gibson's other [A]pendics.shuffle releases-but its carefree and playful spirit feels sunnier. It's near-impossible to resist, for example, the jubilant shuffle that jauntily struts through 'Shine Another Light' and the other two cuts are equally infectious if fundamentally different in kind: the syncopated rhythms of 'Your Spoons' vaguely suggest a dancehall connection, while voice fragments careen and collide over a percolating jack in the bubbly title track. 'Group Trivia's' swinging grooves make for perfect summertime listening.
