Cut adrift when Kindercore Records went dormant a few years ago, this Athens, Georgia, band took the separation in stride. Since then, their musicianship and songwriting have evolved, resulting in a more deliberate and energetic style that evokes a broader range of experience. On this, their first new album in four years, Maserati gets everything right.
I have to admit that when I first heard the group years ago, I was a little concerned that they had taken their name from a car and played instrumental rock not terribly different from Trans Am. Yet the years since their last album have given them the opportunity to grow past their infatuation with their inspiration and into a more patient and mature group with a sound that distinguishes them from their peers. The first sign of this transformation that I noticed was the notably clever video for "This Is a Sight We Had One Day From the High Mountain" that showed up last year in anticipation of this album.
One of the things that has helped them quite a bit is the addition of drummer Gerhardt Fuchs, who also played with !!! and LCD Soundsystem among others and who brings a propulsion and dynamism that heightens the band's dimensionality. His drumming infuses "Synchronicity IV" with much of its personality and provides the power behind the pummeling finale of "Show Me the Season." Parts of this album reward patience, like the slow opening of "Inventions," which builds for several minutes before unleashing its danceable payoff at the six-minute mark. They have several tracks that run over seven minutes, but these have enough changes within them to keep them from feeling overlong or unnecessarily repetitious. Shorter songs like "Kalimera" or the brief "Kalinichta" are atmospheric excursions that balance the rock moments with a more obviously emotional texture.
The recording quality itself is lush, opting for a more intimate feel rather than the distance-putting iciness of a lot of this sort of music. Whereas examples of the latter approach to instrumental rock can get boring fast, that doesn't happen here. Yet the excellent production is only one of the many elements that make Inventions for the New Season such a triumphant return.
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