Fluke
Puppy

THE REVIEW

Don't look at the cover. Don't look at it. I SAID DON'T LOOK AT IT!
I know you did. It's too late now.
Tell the truth: how would you imagine the content of this album based on the cover? Children's music? Happy and trivial pop?? Pseudo-Happy-Hardcore?? Well, pretend you didn't see anything, because we're witnessing the world record for the worst cover of an electronic music album. It does not reflect the content of the record at all, which on the contrary, is sublime.

Fluke is a very important entity in the UK electronic field. They were among the leading artists on the scene throughout the 90s, along with Underworld, Prodigy, and Chemical Brothers.
By 2003, six years after the album 'Risotto' (another masterpiece), Fluke went from 3 to 2, but their creativity did not suffer, on the contrary: this is absolutely their best album.

First of all, it's important to say that the album is structured in two parts: the first, richer in danceable and pulsating breakbeat tracks, the second, more relaxing and background, yet where the tracks guide their influences in multiple directions. The most striking element of the work is indeed this: unlike in the past, where Fluke made more traditional dance, for this latest album they have opted for experimentation, enriching their tracks with rock, trip-hop, ambient, and even gospel (!!!) influences. All of this without ever forgetting the dancefloor.

It starts with 'Snapshot', a very dark track where the rather angry voice of the singer pairs with a cascade of breaks and acid samples. It then continues with 'My Spine', a track with a strong rock appeal, dominated by a nice bass line, leading to 'Another Kind Of Blues', a track many have already heard, as it was the soundtrack to the rave/sex scene in Zion in Matrix Reloaded. After 'Hang Though', another track with house cadences, we reach the magnificent 'Switch/Twitch', made famous by Need For Speed Underground 2: a 9-minute track composed of straight bass and synths galore, which blasted at full volume cannot help but make you dance ;D.
At this point, the second part of the album begins, as mentioned above. From the ambient of 'Ykk' and 'Expo', to the funky of 'Electric Blue', to the very 'Massive' trip-hop of 'Baby Pain', to the psychedelia of 'Nebulus' (a perfect track for a trip through the American desert :-)), until reaching the concluding and beautiful 'Blue Sky' where Fluke, at the peak of their extravagance, decide to dabble in gospel, indeed, in addition to the singer's voice, the track is dominated by a very joyful gospel choir. In the end, the result is a piece capable of instilling great serenity.

In conclusion, the entire album (with the exception of 'Blue Sky') is dominated by a very nocturnal atmosphere, ideal for a nighttime highway drive, among the landscape lights. Despite everything, it's not an easy listen: I myself had to listen to it several times before fully understanding it, though I also blame the cover a bit for this, as it is the first impact one has with an album, which can affect the purchase and the appeal with which we'll listen to it.

Recommended as always to all enthusiasts!!!