After more than two decades of near silence, General Magic - aka Ramon Bauer and Andi Pieper - continue their improbable return to the sonic fray with "Bosko", an album that feels at once like a logical continuation of their past work and a fresh, mischievous mutation of electronic music’s possibilities.

Longtime listeners will recall the duo’s groundbreaking contributions to the early days of Mego, where digital errors became aesthetic tools and malfunction was an invitation to dance. From the fridge-sampling absurdity of "Frantz" (1997) to the percussive austerity of "Rechenkönig" (2000), their work has always been playful yet exacting, chaotic yet composed. With "Bosko", General Magic do not attempt a nostalgic return to their glitch-infused origins but instead explore an unpredictable new approach, balancing rhythmic instability, synthetic textures, and an underlying sense of humor.

There’s a rawness here, but not in the lo-fi sense - this is raw like an idea in the process of unfolding, where sounds twitch, stutter, and evolve unpredictably. The music feels almost sculptural, full of sharp edges and intricate negative spaces, as if Bauer and Pieper are carving out a place for their own idiosyncratic take on contemporary electronic composition. At times, the album evokes a hybrid of cybernetic funk and robotic punk, with synthetic voices emerging from a digital fog, refusing to settle into any conventional melodic structure.

Much like their early works, "Bosko" resists easy categorization. Rhythms appear and dissolve, structures shift without warning, and yet there is a compelling internal logic guiding the whole experience. It’s an album that is both mechanical and organic, deeply considered yet never overworked. The sound design remains impeccable - each click, hum, and fractured beat placed with an almost architectural precision.
Tina Frank’s artwork - her first analog painting for a General Magic release - adds to the enigma. A vaguely anthropomorphic figure hovers in an undefined landscape, embodying the album’s blend of familiarity and strangeness. It’s an image that mirrors "Bosko"'s sonic approach: expressive yet abstract, hinting at something recognizable before dissolving into the unknown.

For those expecting a direct sequel to "Frantz" or "Rechenkönig", "Bosko" might initially feel like an odd detour. But that’s precisely the point - General Magic have never been interested in repeating themselves. This is an album that thrives on unpredictability, reveling in its own strangeness, and proving that even after all these years, Bauer and Pieper can still confound expectations in the best possible way.