Blue Flux - Don't Let Go Again

Blue Flux

Don't Let Go Again
​self-released; 2021

4.0 out of 5

By Dino DiMuro

Blue Flux is based in Perth, UK, and has been playing and recording since the ’90s as “a precocious indie band bent on snubbing received musical trends.” The band consists of founding member Tom Berlin plus guest contributors, and their newest release is Don’t Let Go Again, though it was written and recorded between 2014 and 2015. Looking back, Berlin felt the original album was somewhat rushed to completion, so this version is technically a remix. One song was dropped, another added, and every other track was reworked from scratch, with a few new overdubs, some judicious editing and a whole new track order.

Blue Flux has been described as art-rock or post-prog, with traces of Pineapple Thief, Scott Matthews and Rain Tree Crow. The band states that despite the synths and keyboards, Don’t Let Go Again remains a guitar-driven album at heart. “The rich layering and effects treatments conjure lush atmospheres as readily as brooding disquiet, at times in the same song. Most of the songs concern themselves with changes: insidious or voluntary, sudden or creeping, all of which often affect the course and value of our lives. But above all, Don’t Let Go Again is about the music that made it. ” 

The album was recorded at Groundhog Studio using Sonar and Studio One, with mixing and mastering at Berlin’s studio. Among Berlin’s instruments are a Fender Telecaster, Taylor 6-string, Ibanez 12-string acoustic, Fender fretless bass, and a Korg synth and Wavedrum.

“Drawing The Line” has an opening feel very much like the start of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but quickly veers in a different direction. Berlin has a great voice that recalls Glenn Hansard with a touch of Ian Anderson, and his musical backings are all over the place: rock, funk, jazz and space-rock sounds percolate together. There’s a Doors-like keyboard, stabbing strings and roiling guitar breaks. There’s so much going on here simultaneously that it takes time to sort through it, sort of like prog rock without excessive “math.”

“Pipeline” follows with the same basic template: no one instrument seems to carry the song, preferring to trade off bits of melody back and forth with a slathering of space rock sound and synth pads in the background. Having mentioned Ian Anderson before, with this song I’m further reminded of late-era Jethro Tull. “Don’t Let Go” starts with the line “coming up for air, clouds break” and indeed it is a kind of quiet, acoustic break from the first two jam-packed songs, at least for the opening couple minutes. Berlin then kicks the song into acoustic rock mode, with still more of those space effects and lots of creative, reverbed mixing on the instruments. 

“Charity” has a twangy off-kilter rhythm. The lyrics are somewhat opaque - is Charity a woman? A Muse? - but this song features a somewhat straightforward and engaging chord scheme, moving into a more funky groove for the guitar solo. “Dust” is one of three songs that Berlin calls “synth or sample-heavy tracks” which is funny because it feels of a piece with everything else so far. It’s a fun, upbeat tune where Berlin has a lot of fun with the lyrics. “Comrades in space - race / Home of the brave - face / Murder most foul - a toothless howl…”

“Black Dress” is another track that starts out acoustically, though with psychedelic background pads and otherworldly vocals from Berlin. The body of the song is proggy rock like early Phil Collins Genesis, with a Chris Squire bass line. “Z-Shift” is another of the songs (along with the following “Limbo in Limbo”) that Berlin says is heavy with samples, but frankly I can’t tell the difference. His terrific lead vocals are again upfront, with all that other stuff restlessly floating around. Here comes a reviewer cliche: “I wonder what he’d sound like with a more stripped-down sound?” But I can’t fault the guy for consistency. “Limbo in Limbo” does introduce a nice new marimba and vibes texture, though I definitely feel like I’ve heard some of these ghostly voices before. When the rock guitars kick in, it sounds like something Steve Howe might have arranged.

I won’t lie: there’s a LOT going on within these songs and they’re occasionally overstuffed, but Berlin has chosen a sound and stuck with it. That Berlin’s got incredible facility with all his instruments and arrangements is obvious by the first minute, and I’ve no doubt he’s got years of great material still up his sleeve.

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