The latest album from Alfred Anthony sees him focusing on dance and electronica, having previously used his electronic music skills to create classical romance, new age, and jazz themes. The title Wild West suggests images of vast windswept landscapes where only the hardy survive. To some extent the music fits in with that because it typically has lots of energy and a raw intensity in many places. Interestingly, the liner notes give the number of beats per minute in each of the tracks - apart from a couple of the ambient ones. A thunderclap begins the opening track "Wild West" in dramatic fashion. Slowly pulsing refrains, a syncopated and strange, throaty, processed voice, and various background effects lead up to a swaggering passage of drum beats, intermittent percussive rhythms, and melody. As the piece progresses it all gets faster and more intense. This track is an augur of what's to come, while the melodies and rhythms can be enjoyable the style is often bold and "in your face", though there are a few calmer tracks. A good example of the latter is "Juno" where we are, surprisingly given the general theme of the album, taken to outer space. Undulating and slightly bubbling cocooned sounds play out over faintly heard pads and flowing water, and alongside a kaleidoscope of flitting and alienesque effects. Another spacey track is "Worm Hole", here swishing sounds and a dull heartbeat kind of bass sedately move along as metallic objects pass on by through this peculiar rift in spacetime. Fans of Berlin school music may find "Year of the Snake" to their liking with its lively sequencing and synth melodies. This piece has hints of Tangerine Dream but is rooted in Alfred's own style. Showing that he's a musician with a sense of fun that is allowed out in the music, "Groove Thang" comes across to me as slightly kitsch with its grooves, beats, and streetwise rhythms. Wild West should appeal to those people looking for lively EM that leans towards the raw rather than polished end of the spectrum. Apparently Alfred makes music for the sake of it, happily this album will appeal to more than just the artist himself.