Maserati - Rehumanizer
by Dave Goodwin
published: 25 / 11 / 2015
Label:
Temporary Residence
Format: CD
intro
Infectious and explosive synth-based post rock on latest album from Athens, Georgia-based band, Maserati
I am not a big fan of instrumental albums, but Georgia post-rock group Maserati have changed my train of thought. They released their debut EP in 2001, and they have been churning out solid material ever since. As I was - let's say - blinkered, I missed most it, hearing fleeting album tracks but not really delving onto them. In 2004, drummer Phil Horan left the group along with guitarist Matt Cherry who was temporarily replaced by Tristan Wraight. In early 2005, Matt Cherry re-joined the band and Jerry Fuchs stepped in on drums, and the group went down a psychedelic and space rock-influenced path. Signing to Temporary Residence in 2007, they released the full-length 'Inventions for the New Season', issuing a 12" featuring remixes of songs a year later. Then in 2009 in Brooklyn, disaster struck when Fuchs, then bjust 34, fell to his death down an elevator shaft. It took two years after this for Maserati to bring out their next offering, 'Pyramid of the Sun', which included most of Fuchs’ final work. The band then went on a lengthy tour throughout Europe and the U.S. after releasing the album 'Maserati VII' in 2012, their first record with drummer Mike Albanese. Maserati started life as a guitar-heavy post-rock outfit with Krautrock tendencies, and by the time they had released 'Inventions for the New Season' they had progressed to a spacier, more electric, psychedelic sound. In 2009 they collaborated with big synth group Zombi, which totally changed their sound and direction forever, a sound that is typified on 'No Cave', the opening track on 'Humaniser', which combines a soaring synth and murderous bass line. 'Montes Jura', the second track, is a little darker and more akin to their former days. The highlight for me though is stuck neatly in the middle. 'End of Man' uses vocals as does 'Living Cell' but the former has a more robotic feel. The closing pair of tracks, 'Rehumanizer I' and 'Rehumanizer II', are both one hundred mile an hour Maserati at their best. 'Rehumanizer' is like an unreleased Sci-Fi soundtrack to, say, 'Star Wars' or 'Battlestar Galactica', but it has that explosive and fiery post-Millennium drive that so many bands seem to omit, opting instead for something more stripped back. This is explosive and fiery and much better for it too. The CD version appears in a colourful gatefold card sleeve which has an alien being on the front that looks like an item you would pick out of the glove box of a supercar. Despite being someone who usually veers away form instrumental music, I love this and it will in the shortlist of my Top 10 for this year.
Track Listing:-
1 No Cave2 Living Cell
3 Montes Jura
4 End of Man
5 Rehumanizer I
6 Rehumanizer II
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/MASERATIBAND/https://twitter.com/maserati_band
Label Links:-
http://temporaryresidence.com/https://www.facebook.com/temporaryresidence
https://twitter.com/tempresltd
https://www.youtube.com/user/temporaryresidence
https://plus.google.com/+temporaryresidence
bandcamp
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesPhilip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Deep Purple - =1
Bill Wyman - Drive My Car
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Popstar - Obscene
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart