It takes a fairly seasoned ear merely to determine that Casino Versus Japan and Freescha are two different acts sharing a single EP. Even the album art, which encourages us to mistake one of the acts' names for a title, is misleading. Honestly, twenty spins down the road, I'm still not entirely sure it's not the same guy on all seven tracks, laughing at my confusion...

On the bright side, that means that Casino Versus Japan and Freescha have created a split EP that's more cohesive than many single-artist albums. You can tell the acts apart if you try: Casino favors a sort of layered, gauzy ambience, while Freescha cuts through the clouds with harder beats, glitches and turntable scratches. Both like a lot of low end. Indeed, CVJ's "Come Along Do", which opens the disc, is a classic stretch of understated bass, swooping and swirling through an elegant slow-motion subwoofer ballet. "Coromiak" is a more percussive affair, drums churning away like massive engines deep beneath its surface, while strained synth melodies sizzle and bubble and slosh in the foreground. "Blinking" recalls vintage William Orbit compositions, but with a modern edge -- a glitchy, drawling drum loop slurring through an arid landscape of futuristic blues -- and closer "Durusey"'s moody, stretched out sprawl would make the perfect soundtrack for a mermaid porn film from 1977.

Freescha introduce themselves with "Sheena", a comparatively frantic torrent of cuts, scratches, fragmented hip-hop vocals and general aural disorientation; it sounds like Casino Versus Japan subjected to the whims of an entry-level turntablist. "Dental Fur" strains its frizzled, distorted melody through an aural sieve as a non-assertive beat ticks away in the background, and "Pony Blow" shuffles gamely through a forest of stabbing, undulating sound -- keyboards slash and jab and hiss, then hide themselves in the depths of the mix, awaiting another opportunity.

It's all interesting stuff. Casino Versus Japan coming out slightly ahead of Freescha due to "Come Along Do", but nothing here is an overt failure unless you're looking for something to dance to. However, I'm still not convinced that Casino Versus Japan and Freescha are two different guys/groups. Has anyone ever seen them together? The mystery deepens.