Blaine L. Reininger
Broken Fingers

THE REVIEW

Underground currents intertwine and disperse in this debut solo album by Blaine L. Reininger, released in 1982 and reissued on CD in 2004 with no less than five additional tracks compared to the original edition. "Broken Fingers" comes from the creative workshop of the Tuxedomoon leader, an American band that left an indelible mark on the new-wave scene of the '80s. If that group looked to Europe as its chosen land and stylistically identified with some significant experiences taking place there in those years, Blaine Reininger does the same in this work, released by the Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule, but with an even more personal and thoughtful approach.

Centripetal forces (towards Sister Europe, to cite the Psychedelic Furs) stir in "Broken Fingers," and they result in tracks like "Magic Time" and "Right Mind," the former marked by heavy electronic percussion and synth arrangements, the latter made more aggressive by the acid tone of the bass and distorted guitars. Two essays of style of the new-wave sound of the period, just like the title track placed at the beginning, characterized by the shadowy and solemn atmosphere created by the piano's grave register, to which the keyboards respond with their soft counterpoint.

Centrifugal forces (away from Sister Europe) are what urge Reininger to look towards other boundaries, as he personally experiences the allure of elsewhere, and so we find the punk-Arabic sounds of "Nur Al Hajj," the oriental tones of "Petit Piece Chinoise," or the Latin-Mexican divertissement of "Gigolo Grasiento."

But overall, the music of "Broken Fingers" is a nocturnal music, reflective even in its roughest and most angular moments, as solemn as in the austere cover of Bowie's "Sons of the Silent Age." The cold and impersonal sound of the drum machines brings us back to those years, and the now intimate, now piercing timbre of Reininger's voice gives us back some of that lost charm. And for those who loved Tuxedomoon, a demo and two live tracks at the end of the CD leave a seal on an album that would be a shame to forget.