The latest album from Vienna’s B. Fleischmann embraces the electric guitar, especially the characteristically warm and full sounds of the humbucker style pickup. It is an enjoyable if forgettable album. The songs all blur into each other and the album plays through in what feels like an instant; there is nothing of any real interest on it.
Throughout the album, each song follows a similar predictable formula: a straight from the box drum machine loop plays and some very basic guitar strumming is repeated over it. Although nothing Fleischmann does on the album is in any way revolutionary or original, it all fits together well. Most of the music is pleasant, the kind of music that I’d put on when I didn’t want to be too taxed or distracted. It’s nice but it’s hard to sit down and enjoy it as anything more than muzak.It simply doesn’t engage me.
Christof Kurtzmann lends his voice to “Gain” and “From To,” both songs are among the better pieces on the album. “Gain” has a bit of tremolo thrown on the guitar and a great organ sound accompanying it. “From To” has a Kraftwerk vibe to it at first as the beat and sample of a what sounds like a sharp intake of breath reminds me of their Tour de France releases. Kurtzmann’s voice is one of those weird “shouldn’t be a singer but sounds good” voices. There’s a feeble, faltering quiver running through his singing, he sounds almost too human. It suits Fleischmann’s laid back music very well. Kurtzmann plays clarinet on “Static Grate” but it doesn’t add much to the piece, it could just be another one of Fleischmann’s synths.
“Phones and Machines” is the only track that is in any way memorable. The rhythm is out of joint and jerky, it sounds like it’s constantly skipping or stalling. I liked that effect but it still doesn’t strike me as being that noteworthy. The remainder of The Humbucking Coil is far from offensive to my ears but it’s also far from being attention-grabbing. I imagine that if I ever enter a coma, this is what it will sound like.
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