Excepter's shift from a collective of droning noiseniks to four-man cracked-disco band isn't as radical as the catchy "Rock Stepper" makes it seem. The rest of Alternation has a healthy share of the group's trademark woozy beats, zombified moans, and warped synth squiggles. Still, anyone who's followed Excepter's hypnotic path should be pleasantly surprised by the hooky lilt and insistent pulse of this cut, which John Fell Ryan and Dan Hougland actually wrote years ago before their dance-rock plans got derailed by an addiction to sprawling improv. How much you like the track will likely hinge on your opinion of Ryan's lethargic singing, which crawls through Excepter songs like a drugged animal lumbering through woods in search of sunlight. To me, his ghostly voice turns "The Rock Stepper" from clever diversion into compelling art/dance hybrid akin to the Residents' oddball concoctions, making it the best track on one of the best albums of the year.

MP3: Excepter: The Rock Stepper (Edit)