BLANCK MASS - Dumb Flesh

Having firmly established itself with the "dark" wing of the indie audience, the Sacred Bones label has moved on from pure scouting to systematically signing already-recognized, if not fully consecrated, artists. The solo project of Benjamin John Power, one half of Fuck Buttons, kept us waiting four years for its return, and now resurfaces stamped with the unmistakable graphic design of the Brooklyn label.

Given this change of hands, one might reasonably expect the Blanck Mass moniker to swerve further toward drone-noise, once again "disowning" the duo's emotional climaxes in favour of ever darker, more meditative electronic settings. Instead, "Dumb Flesh" surrenders without much compromise to a maximalist aesthetic that seems determined to catapult us into an immediate trance: relentless loops, almost always built on shamelessly danceable percussion and synth lines that recall the darkest forays of iamamiwhoami ("Atrophies", "Double Cross").

All in all, then, this is a scenario fairly far removed from the Sacred Bones standard, where the only sinister notes come from the deformed, inhuman voices surfacing from the dense flow of the tracks. Only with the closing "Detritus" do we find Power's noise-driven roots again, with a corrosive soundscape that overflows into an implacable charge - a track that could easily have featured on the tracklist of "Slow Focus".

An exhilarating listening experience that, through the thematic echo of its artwork, delivers the idea of a chaotic yet tangible physicality, like that of a sweaty, pulsating dancefloor. Looking closer, though, the tricks employed are almost too convenient: Power doesn't bother building rising atmospheres, going straight for the point with stunning dj-set attacks, thereby denying us a gradual, deep immersion that would have been more effective for being genuinely developed over the long haul. In short, "Dumb Flesh" stops at the skin-deep sensation, however enticing in its free and immediate manifestation.

The double-vinyl edition includes the bonus track "Life Science".

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13/05/2015