Horizontalism - Remixes, Interpretations & Exclusives

Fink, the trio of Fin Greenall, Tim Thornton, and Guy Whittaker, always subvert audience expectations. In creating a follow-up to a hit record, many artists issue remix collections as touring filler; they milk every last drop from a winning full-length. One might be forgiven for having that initial impression when observing the label copy on Horizontalism, the follow-up to 2014's widely celebrated, laid-back Hard Believer.

This set is a collection of dubs and remixes based on that set. Rather than merely doing a bit of sonic manipulation of source material, this trio have created an entirely new offering by balancing thoroughly revisioned previous tunes with a handful of new tracks that follow the same creative line. The hard dubbing remixes don't rely on Greenall's voice (again, as one might expect); instead, they rely on it as an instrument, as is proper, in a rhythm-first aesthetic, where bass, drums, and loops are elastically altered with sonic elements and textures -- from stretched, wafting synths to tablas, cymbals, and loops -- pasted on layer by layer. Together they paint a massive, spaced-out, trance-like aural portrait. Greenall's singing is added in piecemeal for emphasis, multiplying the atmospheric effects -- check the driving pulse of "Looking Too Closely" and minimal industrial abstraction in "Pilgrim". Of the new tunes, opener "Fall Into the Light" and "Suffering Is the Art of Love" offer the best of both worlds.

Fink's trademark electronic singer/songwriter approach is present, but decentered; it bleeds into nocturnal, smoky, 21st century dubtronica. Horizontalism is not only a worthy follow-up and extension of Hard Believer, it stands on its own as an excellent addition to the band's catalog.

- AllMusic