Dumb Flesh

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Dumb Flesh
Studio album by
Released11 May 2015 (2015-05-11)
GenreElectronica, drone, noise
Length49:38
LabelSacred Bones Records
Blanck Mass chronology
Blanck Mass
(2011)
Dumb Flesh
(2015)
World Eater
(2017)

Dumb Flesh is the second studio album by the English experimental musician Blanck Mass, released on 11 May 2015 (2015-05-11).

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Consequence of SoundB[3]
Drowned in Sound7/10[4]
Exclaim!8/10[5]
Pitchfork7.6/10[6]
PopMatters[7]
Resident Advisor3.6/5[8]
The New York Timespositive[9]
The Quietuspositive[10]
musicOMH[11]

Dumb Flesh was met with positive critical reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album has received a metascore of 77, based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]

AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares awarded the album four out of five stars and observed that:"loaded with undeniable hooks and beats, the album is "dumb" in the best way possible, and embraces the "flesh" part of its title by making bodies move."[2] Nina Corcoran, writing for Consequence of Sound:"The album is vivid between shadows, pulsing with the diseased blood of a body slowly losing its motivation to carry on."[3] Tristan Bath from Drowned in Sound opined that it was:"This is beautiful, disgusting, danceable, and nightmarish music."[4] Pitchfork critic Nathan Reese observed that:"... their music's pure momentum almost guaranteed its audience by force alone."[6] Ian King, writing for PopMatters, rated the album eight stars out of ten and described it as:"Powers puts the body at the forefront of his audience's mind is by suggesting that they move it."[7] Exclaim! reviewer Daniel Sylvester, who scored the album eight out of ten, opined that: "As one half of electronic psych drone purveyors Fuck Buttons, Power originally created Blanck Mass to explore beatless and formless ambient music. With the release of his follow-up, Dumb Flesh, Power abandons this singular musical mode, bringing with him myriad recording styles and techniques."[5]

Ben Ratliff from The New York Times commented that: "he's giving you something you might find familiar or even commercial by its basic outlines. But he's still got ways to make it uncanny: close, loud and abrupt."[9] The Quietus reviewer James Ubaghs observed that:"A reoccurring feature is the way that vocal samples frequently sound like synths, and synths sound almost like vocals, on the verge of attaining sentience."[10] Sam Shepherd, in his review for musicOMH commented:"There are some fine moments here, but all too often Dumb Flesh seems like a diluted version of Fuck Buttons."[11]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by John Power

No.TitleLength
1."Loam"4:06
2."Dead Format"6:15
3."No Lite"9:56
4."Atrophies"5:07
5."Cruel Sport"8:42
6."Double Cross"5:37
7."Lung"5:27
8."Detritus"8:13
Vinyl bonus track
No.TitleLength
9."Life Science (Ambient Suite)"17:02

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Dumb Flesh by Blanck Mass". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b Heather Phares. "Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b Nina Corcoran (5 May 2015). "Blanck Mass – Dumb Flesh". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b Tristan Bath (8 May 2015). "Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  5. ^ a b Daniel Sylvester (8 May 2015). "Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh". Exclaim!. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b Nathan Reese (13 May 2015). "Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  7. ^ a b Ian King (12 May 2015). "Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh". PopMatters. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  8. ^ Tony Naylor (21 May 2015). "Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  9. ^ a b Ben Ratliff (11 May 2015). "Review: 'Dumb Flesh,' From Blanck Mass". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  10. ^ a b James Ubaghs (21 May 2015). "Blanck Mass - DUMB FLESH". The Quietus. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  11. ^ a b Sam Shepherd (11 May 2015). "Blanck Mass – Dumb Flesh". musicOMH. Retrieved 28 November 2016.