Pit Er Pat
The Flexible Entertainer
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Label: Thrill Jockey
Amongst Thrill Jockey’s impressive roster of experimental bands is Pit Er Pat, one of their most diverse artists. Their albums constantly push the envelope with complex arrangements and exploratory melodies that are difficult to encapsulate. For the most part, their radically experimental style has worked, though 2009 saw the loss of bassist Rob Doran, urging on remaining members Fay Davis-Jeffers and Butchy Fuego to take the band in an entirely new direction.
Songs on their new album, The Flexible Entertainer, reflects the band’s departure from studio wizardry; for ease of travel during a European tour, the duo experimented with a simpler sound, requiring fewer instruments. It’s a gamble, following the captivating 2008 release High Time with such a stripped-down album, but it ends up only calling attention to the void Doran’s absence creates.
Though Pit Er Pat still posses their indistinct, atmospheric sound, the loss of Doran’s bass means a loss of the band’s sense of timing and structure. Now Davis-Jeffers and Fuego’s sound, although quirky, feels crammed and clunky. Nearly every song starts strong, but quickly loses focus, becoming a cloying overuse of drum and bass, hi hat, cuica, complete with ill-timed vocals.
“Intro” is a bubbly, otherworldly track with soul-thumping 808 and being the only track conceived in-studio, the disconnect from the rest of the album is palpable. “Water” feels much more complicated than it should be; from the awkward booty-bass, reggaeton beat to Davis-Jeffers’ confusing lyrical delivery, it’s undoubtedly the most perplexing track on The Flexible Entertainer. “Nightroom” is engaging, the simplicity experiment working here as it highlights Davis-Jeffers lackadaisical vocal style, though various moments of melody rely much too heavily on drum and bass loops. Harmonies are used elegantly on “Godspot,” yet get interrupted by Fuego’s snare and guitar, which trip over themselves in an annoying battle to overwhelm an otherwise beautiful song.
When the duo excel, they capture the shadowy, sophisticated sound of previous Pit Er Pat albums. “Emperor of Charms” and “Chavez Ravine” are sprinkled with Middle Eastern rhythms, impressively punctuating the ending of an otherwise less-than-satisfactory album. The final song, “Specimen,” is a sultry, eight-minute track of bhangra rhythm that conjures images of sexy, sweaty bodies dancing until the break of dawn in a crowded warehouse party somewhere on the wrong side of town.
What keeps The Flexible Entertainer afloat is the duo’s expertise in applying various musical styles. Though that’s the constant that has made Pit Er Pat’s music compelling over the course of six albums, an attempt to record a minimalist artistic endeavor has resulted in a release full of clumsy vocals and overwhelming drum and bass riffs. Instead, The Flexible Entertainer plays more like a band awkwardly attempting to forge a new identity.
by KayJay
