EXTRA LIFE - Made Flesh

It's undeniable that the musical synthesis devised by Charlie Looker is rather original, as demonstrated just two years ago by the excellent "Secular Works". That "dramatic" encounter between New York avant-prog, math-rock leanings and medieval echoes reveals, in fact, an investigative drive that has no equal in the realm of popular music.

On "Made Flesh" the formula remains more or less unchanged, although, overall, the record turns out more accessible than its predecessor, as well as - alas - less compelling. It kicks off at full speed with "Voluptuous Life", which darts through synth modulations, and continues with the fractured chamber-pop of "The Ladder", a sumptuous and sinister fusion of Gentle Giant and brutalist leftovers in the vein of Zs. The hand of producer Colin Marston is felt heavily, with a sound that gains even more in density. However, the unfolding of these scores, at once cerebral and lyrical, betrays more than one moment of indecision, as if Looker - always ready to try new solutions within a genre that is truly "private" (and here there's really something that goes beyond the previous record, even if not yet well calibrated) - had left little room for instinct and a great deal for stark, raw rationality.

Too calculated, in fact, "Made Flesh" ends up coming across as aloof, rather than inviting exploration. So while the meticulous constructions of the title track and of "The Body Is True" let the tension build up until the closing acceleration, and the precarious structures (shadowed by split operatic voices, metallic outbursts and flocks of strings and plucked harps) of "One Of Your Whores" show traces of a genuinely respectable vision, it's also true that the otherwise powerful "Easter" proves unproductive in the long run, and that the pairing of "Black Hoodie" and "Head Shrinker" (two Renaissance-flavored charms) cuts a fine figure, if without great fanfare.

A transitional record, but a classy one.

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22/03/2010