Different Fountains - Transparent Flag (2019)

Different Fountains return with their 2nd full length Album after their debut LP ‘Shrimp that Sleeps’ released in 2014 in collaboration with meakusma. The 10 tracks on ‘Transparent Flag’ are a diverse collection of music traversing genres and moods with great ease. After a captivating string of 12” releases on their ‘Organism’ series, Transparent Flag takes off where Shrimp that Sleeps left us 5 years ago. The opening track (Jobs Job) starts with a warm pulsating string melody that fades into a polyrhythmic staccato (Vein Satori) of otherworldly plug and bell timbres followed by a more uptempo track (Gammon) that continues to surprise throughout it’s 6 minutes playtime. A frenetic bass pattern winding itself around continuous snare hits gets subdued in a mystic pad slowly emerging from the depth of the bass sounds. It’s more ambient tracks connect seamlessly with head spinning rhythm excursions flowing into a slow pounding dance floor piece (Arson). The delightful elegance of each song and the interplay of precision and bewildering chaos makes Transparent Flag a joyful listening Album that carries you along on an eclectic and colourful trip from the first to the last minute. It’s a certain continuation of their efforts on creating a multilayered universe of music as heard on their first Album but with a skill set and inventiveness beyond what we’ve heard before.