The development of technology should inspire us to consider what “humanity” actually is, and how it can coexist with the ever-expanding digital machine. What separates us from machines? Is it our capacity to care for others, to imagine a future, to live rich inner lives? Los Angeles-based Bloomfield Machine, the stage name of multi-instrumentalist composer Brian Kassan, straddles the line of human emotion and digital infrastructure on his new album “Algorithm & Blues”, a compact, curious collision of guitar, keyboards, electronic textures and eager experimentation.
The shredding electric guitar solos of opener “A variation of nothing”, the hypnotically repeating bass lick of the title track, and the intoxicating atmospherics, acidic drum beats, and sentimental melodies of “The engineered life” merge into an awesome mix.
Other highlights include the galvanising energy of “Distraction Machine”, the beautifully velvety production of “The waiting room”, and the soft edges of the closing track “Time Blind”, with muted bass tones and soft synth strikes contrasted by tails of wailing distortion and minimalistic drum programming.
The sense of immediacy across the stronger tracks on this collection is somewhat watered down by the fifteen-strong tracklist, meaning genuinely intriguing tracks like “Threat of Clarity” are sandwiched between the cluttered “Deep Dish Dharma” and “Meander”, a song that, as its title suggests, meanders around a tepid and ambiguous emotion. Ultimately, these excursions, especially the brief but bombastic experiment “Stop the Hammering”, add a texture, a kind of human element; the rawness of communication that’s needed to make good points.
“Algorithm & Blues” by Bloomfield Machine is a distinctive and wildly creative album that merges technical electronic production with the kind of emotion that can only come from a human free to play and explore wherever their instinct takes them. That instinct is simultaneously hindered and facilitated by the wall of mechanical sound Kassan uses as a canvas for his abstractly formed musical expressions.
★★★★
“Algorithm & Blues” by Bloomfield Machine will be released August 28th.
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