‘Slow Focus’, the third album from titanic drone-duo Fuck Buttons, was one of our favourite records in 2013. Then with the static still ringing in our ears – they disappeared. SOURCE were beginning to mourn the absence of decadent dread-fuelled electro in our playlist. Luckily we had Blanck Mass.
Blanck Mass is the side project of Benjamin John Powers (one half of Fuck Buttons). In May last year Powers released ‘Dumb Flesh’ – the most diverse record of his career. Trademark textures still appear throughout but like Jamie XX he sounds looser outside of his day job.
The chopped and screwed ‘Loam’ is as Southern and syrupy as anything Clams Casino produced for A$AP Rocky. ‘Dead Format’ is Kavinsky’s red OutRun car careening through the static snowstorm of Carpenter’s The Thing. There are epic industrial soundscapes like ‘No Lite’ and ‘Detritus’ that could have found themselves on ‘Slow Focus’ while the 16-bit jitter of ‘Atrophies’ is reminiscent of Crystal Castles’ magnum opus: ‘(II)’.
“Like Power’s best work, Dumb Flesh moves you when it literally moves you.” Pitchfork
Have a light dinner and bring your earplugs, this is 4D and not for the fainthearted.
The Haunt, Wednesday 30th March 2016
Tickets are £10 (plus booking fee), available via Resident and See Tickets
