Blake Fleming, former drummer for The Mars Volta, Dazzling Killmen, and others describes himself as “too punk for jazz and too jazz for punk.” As a result, he started making whatever music he wanted, and putting out The Beat Fantastic. The notes I got on the press release for Fleming’s album said it was “a mesmerizing journey of percussion-driven psych noir.” That’s spot-on because there were many times while listening to this album that I thought it could score a film or the next time I run a Blade Runner role-playing game session.
“First Transmission” comes in with static and feedback, leaving you to wonder what kind of record this is at first. Is it just ambient noise? Industrial anger? Something you’d hear in a haunted factory attraction this time of year? Then “Desert Frame One” appears almost like magic and starts hypnotizing you with weird synths and cauldron beats that might be stirred by “The Girl with the Electric Pants” – who brings punk funk with her.
“Devolution Revolution Evolution” sounds like dwarves beating on anvils with magic hammers to craft a drum kit fit for a wizard. “Desert Frame Two” is a nice set-up for “Get Up” – a wild action sequence of a track that has Fleming crushing his kit. “Time Slip” slips into “Drum Killah,” which layers so many types of percussion that I kept losing count of them.
“Dense Jaki” slows things down a bit and adds a slight Middle Eastern rhythm to the mix. “PaleoCyberKineticism (for the MC5)” might melt your mind with its Throbbing Gristle-level throbbing synth bass, so be careful with it. The hand percussion on “Delancey Stomp” is sharp as a hundred knives, and the closer, “The Shadow Cast” sounds like a lost track from your favorite 1980s horror film.
I love good instrumental rock records, and this one is a great find.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Dan from Discipline PR.]