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CMU Approved
Approved: Blanck Mass – Hellion Earth
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 4 February 2013
As one half of Fuck Buttons, Benjamin Power made a right old electronic racket (a very good one, but still… quite noisy), so it stands to reason that at some point he might want to calm things down a bit. Hence his solo project, Blanck Mass, the 2011 eponymous debut album from which was a dreamlike wash of Eno-esque ambient instrumentals.
Ambient music is great when it’s expected, but at a festival last year a lot of casual attendees of his show complained that it just “sounded like an intro”. Which is maybe why his subsequent work has seen him take a new direction, adding beats and clearer structure.
First up was last year’s ‘White Math’ single, which first unveiled this development in Power’s sound. Though to be honest, while good, the title track and its b-side ‘Polymorph’ still sounded a bit intro-y. Though when looked at as part of his full discography – from the debut album via that single to the recently released track ‘Hellion Earth’ – a clear line starts to emerge. ‘Hellion Earth’ nails what ‘White Math’ suggested.
Over ten and a half minutes, the track builds, different synth lines wind and dart around each other, and the bassline rumbles through your bones. Experience it all for yourself here:
