Posted on: October 28, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

The sound of Falter Bramnk sounds similar to other French acts like Momus and Gong; there is an eclectic push on “Minimal Romance” that meshes well with a very spastic set of arrangements. There seems to be a raw type of sound that really is prevalent from the opening of the disc; there is a brashness about “Recall of the Souls” that should keep individuals listening, with the express purpose of figuring out where Falter Bramnk will go next.

There is a classical sound to “Waltz for Lon Chaney” that really sounds like something out of Amelie, with a shuffling beat and a fancy free sound really achieved by the horns present on the track. These horns are not being played by strong, confident individuals but individuals that let a timidness and rapidly increasing sense of chaos into the track. The second half of “Waltz for Lon Chaney” is actually the third track, “Headwork and dancing feet”; what was originally a jazz-influenced track has changed to something much more experimental. The different sections of “Headwork and dancing feet” and the fact that there is little warning between these sections put Bramnk into the realm of “Joe’s Garage” era Frank Zappa. However disparate the elements are during “Minimal Romance”, there is a fairly visible thread common to all of the tracks here.

This thread really has to be Bramnk’s jazz influence, which comes back a number of times throughout the course of the disc. Everything is approached with a master’s hand here on the disc, which really says a lot considering that the differing styles go as far as from industrial to pop to jazz and all throughout that. “She’s Far From The Land” may be the most cohesive of the tracks on “Minimal Romance”, in that it mixes instrumental with a very soulful, almost blues type of singing on Bramnk’s part. The instrumental cityscape that is created in the background of “Land” really does more for the track than any horn or piano could do; however odd the combination of the two may sound, the fact remains that it is a solid and smart track on Bramnk’s part. At an hour, individuals have to be ready for anything to come out of left field; simply having the disc one when one is cleaning is not an adequate form of defense. With all the different styles, “Minimal Romance” is quite like the grab bag, with each track revealing much different in the ways of Bramnk’s influences.

Top Tracks: She’s Far From The Land, Headwork and Dancing Feet

Rating: 5.9/10

Falter Bramnk – Minimal Romance / 2006 Acidsoxx / 12 Tracks / http://falter.bramnk.free.fr/ / http://www.acidsoxx.com / Reviewed 21 January 2006

[JMcQ]

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