A leading light in the United States' laptop-techno scene, Kid 606 (born Michael Depedro) revels in the unholy mixture of Digital Hardcore-influenced racket and Japanoise.

It's music as primal-scream therapy, a technological blending of punk rock's insistent "No!" and avant-jazz's exploration of the depths of the extreme. Cut and re-cut samples overlap with the musical manifestation of white noise; hip-hop beats freakishly mutate into slashing jungle beats, which crossfade into hardcore stomps. On and on it goes.

Yet singular asides make it obvious that the Kid's no one-trick pony. On the effects-laden, fractured beat dub "Ruin It, Ruin Them, Ruin Yrself Than Ruin Me" (RealAudio excerpt), he directs his manic energy at the exploration of space. By injecting some melodic dread into the track's latter portion, he adds a deeper spook to the song's title.

Kid's ability to fashion sparkling ambient beat work makes "For When Yr Just Happy to Be Alive" (RealAudio excerpt) a gorgeous reprieve from the surrounding madness, while "Secrets 4 Sale" (RealAudio excerpt) features a highly affected rap vocal from Faith No More's Mike Patton, whose label, Ipecac, released the album.