Review Summary: Bring life back to music...
Maserati have always been oddballs in the music scene, having jumped from one style to another, switching genres as they preferred. Even if the output was at times heavier or leaning on a post rock atmosphere, these guys have kept their electronic influences intact. With
VIIp, the band shed most of the distorted guitars in favor of intricate, effects-soaked interplay, favoring a straightforward, digital route significantly influenced by their current drummer, Mike Albanese. Although the coolness factor was still at an all time high, creating what seemed like an imaginary soundtrack to some '80s cop action movie, some of us hoped for a slight return to a more powerful sound. Three years later, the quartet are back with
Rehumanizer, a record that offers something for every fan.
As the title was stemmed from an audible return to a more organic sound, their latest affair is considerably shorter, clocking at only 40 minutes. Maserati have had some trouble maintaining the momentum throughout an entire album, so these 6 tracks are just about enough to satisfy and guarantee several replays. The two axemen, Matt and Coley, bring everything to the table with the progressive epic 'No Cave', adding several layers of guitars and synths with every minute passing by. Meanwhile, Mike and Chris are doing an excellent job paving the ground with some tight grooves. The two continue the winning streak with some fat bass lines and syncopated drum patterns on 'Living Cell', where we can also find some suitable clean vocals thrown in the mix (quite unusual for them).
While there are some heavier cuts on this album, they haven't finished their forays into vintage electronic music, echoing krautrock just as much as '80s synth pop. 'Montes Jura' and 'End of Man' both are led by sequencers and vocoders, leading me to imagine some old school, dystopian sci-fi/action movies. I still wonder why these guys haven't been drafted by film producers, because they operate on highly synesthetic levels. Nevertheless, the two title tracks that end this journey bring back that energetic vibe 'No Cave' created. The delayed/reverbed leads dominate over the fuzzy bass and scattered power chords on 'Rehumanizer I', whereas the second part focuses more on gritty, staccato rhythms feeling like a noisy response to the former tune.
Though this isn't Maserati at their finest hour, it shows the engine is still running and possesses a lot of potential too. Their universe expanded with
VII and
Rehumanizer successfully brings all those influences together. What I believe the band needs now is a concept to fuel their imagination, because a vast majority of their catalog can be used as soundtracks to various movies. Any fan of the band mustn't miss this.
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