Elaborate – Sundance

Elaborate indeed. Big sounds, big noises, big key changes. It’s lovely what he’s done here, but it seems like there’s a little too much of it. Evidently harping back to vintage Infected, there are some dazzling moments here, tempered by a frustrating sameyness. The sparky moments suggest a great potential of individuality and some genuine talent here… but they’re too few and far between to make for a really engrossing record. Deep is full of changes, a lopsided groove gives way to semi-acoustic guitar in the break, shuffled drum loops, and that screechy topend similar to Talpa’s sound. It’s definitely intelligent, and you marvel at the changes as they unfold in front of you, but it’s somehow not too engaging. More Action has…erm, a lot more action, and it’s here that you feel things are opening up. A rushing, bustling bottomend site nicely with squeaks and squawks, and some of the sounds that come shaking out of the speakers at the drops are breathtaking. The melodies gain more and more power and lead the tune into an undeniably powerful final run. Innovate has one of the best introductions I think I’ve ever heard – a right old jazz/fusion drum solo moment, that somehow drops into a delirious, suomi-friendly twistup. And it cooks: noises from everywhere, swirling all around you, a bit like being in the middle of a big cup of coffee and having someone stir you around. Somehow, the sounds coming at you in layers over the top dissociate perfectly from the ‘ardcore bassline – so while the pounding is frenetic, you’re moving somewhat gracefully (depending how pissed you are.) The melodies then pick up and go sky high… which I mist admit I’m confused about here. Sometimes I’ve listened to it and it’s sounded great, sometimes it’s been lost on me. Time and a place maybe? Disco Planum is smart and funky, and one that you could slide in with standard fullon. There’s a lot of the similar noises here, the sawtooth in abundance and infected-esque keychanges are winning the day. The Lost Music sounds like an Infected/Konami crossover, and builds up into a bit of a trance epic really; it’s admirable, but by this time in the album it’s getting a little strained. Aspect works well, and is probably the tightest individual track on here. It’s got that rare spark, when power and energy combine and you can tell right from the start that it’s going to be a good track. (Psyreviews is like a pig sniffing out these truffles, by the way. Psyreviews knows one when it sniffs one. And this is definitely one. So there.) Technically it may not have so many swoops and tricks, and it’s still got a little too much stop/start, but you get the impression that it all comes together best here. You have to admire Future Sound Of Planum’s sheer ballsiness in trying new things (sounds-like-live drumming all over the place, tight programming, good momentum) but the recession into dodgy chord changes dilutes some of the power. The Morning Murderer ties it together in once again, before the frankly baffling Loneliness, during which (10+ minutes of trance/metal opera) Planum’s black metal musical past becomes significant. It may be genius, but the present writer finds it unlistenable. Elaborate is, then, an awkward album. I want to like it: the musical tricks and his general approach is definitely something to get excited about. But over the course of the album, it gets too familiar, too bogged down in itself. There’ll be kicking stuff from this boy yet, mark my words – but this is too much too soon.