Off/On is a small but important step forward for Forma. Compared to the eponymous release from last year, it is similar in its sonic trappings, but for a group whose whole identity is fixed around nostalgia for kosmische synth loops and drum machine motorik beats, this record demonstrates how they can grow beyond their influences. The signature sound of the group is fleshed out in greater layers, with better production, and teems with hopeful optimism on its standout songs, hinting at an ambitious streak about to surface.
Forma's visual aesthetic hints at the sound. Their first album's cover was a wordless, sandy expanse of desert, shadowed at its half by higher ground. It was cosmic and terrestrial too, ceding to an obsession with simplicity and minuscule details. Meanwhile, Off/On looks like a cropped cover from an edition of National Geographic, again wordless and bare, but with a river of red-hot magma splitting apart a dark crust of volcanic earth; some exposed vein of molten light set flowing.
Each song carries a certain unique timbre based around which interesting effects the group can extract from their abundance of equipment. The eponymous "Off/On" transforms a propulsive beat and bassy arpeggios into spaced-out dark disco. "Mécanique" is the most impressive song off the record, a near-spiritual successor to Kraftwerk's "Europe Endless," which bursts open into a miniature epic over the course of its eleven minutes. Laid smack in the middle of the record with no forewarning, this is a brilliant moment of clarity, and one of my favorite songs of the year. The rest of the album, meanwhile, blurs together into a pleasant haze, successfully pairing scarce rhythms and pristine electronics, closely resembling a soundtrack to the most beautiful educational program ever produced.
As last time, all of these pieces (apart from the two mentioned above) go under the designation of "Forma" followed by a kind of catalog number. I assume Forma's decision to name their similar songs like this is a purposeful move; their similar structures aren't due to a lack of ideas so much as a desire to perfect one or two. These ideas are fine as is, and it is good to hear them manifest in new ways on each record, but I can't deny the impact of a song like "Mécanique." This is an accomplished piece which melds pop and heady futurism so well it escapes the rest of the record. I hope to hear this territory explored more often.
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