If the main function for a musician releasing solo work is to stretch out from the uniformity of their main gig, Benjamin John Power has certainly made the most out of his Blanck Mass project. As one half of electronic psych drone purveyors Fuck Buttons, Power originally created Blanck Mass to explore beatless and formless ambient music. With the release of his follow-up, Dumb Flesh, Power abandons this singular musical mode, bringing with him myriad recording styles and techniques.
Although he tends to rehash many ideas previously covered by Fuck Buttons — especially on noisy, claustrophobic jams like "No Lite" and "Cruel Sport" — Dumb Flesh finds the Bristolian musician working with some truly left-field song structures. Ranging from the bizarre, back-masking opener "Loam" to the dark and minimalist "Lung," Power manages to keep Dumb Flesh sounding uniform and digestible, a great feat for an artist hell-bent on dissecting his craft.
(Sacred Bones)Although he tends to rehash many ideas previously covered by Fuck Buttons — especially on noisy, claustrophobic jams like "No Lite" and "Cruel Sport" — Dumb Flesh finds the Bristolian musician working with some truly left-field song structures. Ranging from the bizarre, back-masking opener "Loam" to the dark and minimalist "Lung," Power manages to keep Dumb Flesh sounding uniform and digestible, a great feat for an artist hell-bent on dissecting his craft.