Album Review: Volor Flex - Unlit

Volor Flex
Unlit
Rating: Meh

Moscow producer Volor Flex (nee Alexander Frolov) must get tired of having every article/review about his music compare him the Burial. It certainly doesn't help that almost everything he has written could easily fit alongside the best of Untrue and there would be little speculation that it wasn't Burial himself. Fractured 2-Step beats, ghostly synths, lonely street noises, and pitch-shifted fragments of vocals strewn across the mix all play their part in Volor Flex's music, making the comparison's inevitable. Certainly, it doesn't help that you name your record very closely to that of Untrue. And while you can call him a Burial cover band or Burial v.2, there is still something here that compels me to listen to his work. Maybe I am missing the Burial of old, who has since moved on to more longer, intricate pieces, or maybe this is just simply catchy, good music. Whatever the reason, there is no denying that Volor Flex, while working from a derivative palate, still knows what he is doing, and is able to convey a lot of emotion into his music, and even occasionally comes up with his own unique take on the Burial template.

When he tries (whether or purpose or by accident) to put his own spin on the Burial sound is where Unlit finally shines and brings it out of mere aping. "Broken Promises" adds a darker, more industrial edged hue, sneaking in harsher vocal samples, rumbling sub-bass, and an overall sense of unease and panic. Closing track "My Universe" takes a longer run time (almost 10 minutes) and creates a universe that is decidedly un-Burialesque; inister basslines and shards of glassy synths bounce around on a shifting, skittering beat. When at the midpoint it takes a turn back towards Burial's signature sound, Volor Flex still has some tricks up his sleeve, teasing with an almost exact Burial beat, but dropping it out into pure ambient bliss.



"Stop Me" features harsher synth textures and tones, lifting itself from Burial's more street worn aesthetic to something more alien and sci-fi leaning.



While these moments demonstrate that Volor Flex can inject his personality into his tracks, the remainder on Unlit truly are working strictly from the Burial pattern. From the somber, moodiness of the title track "Unlit,"



pensive and claustrophobic layers of "Better Believe,"



to the almost paint-by-numbers Burial of opening track "Venus,"



there is not much room for argument that Volor Flex has a definite infatuation. He is a talented producer that knows how to create atmosphere and texture which makes it more surprising that he so slavishly relies on someone else's distinctive sound. It makes it difficult to recommend Unlit because part of me wants to say, if you want the better, more original version of this sound seek out Burial, but yet, these are not lazy reworkings, but rather very good approximations which stand out more when Volor Flex actually puts his own take on them out there. His work on "My Universe" alone warrants more attention. I can only hope he will keep trying to make something more original and distinctive. For now, we can only appreciate that he does something that someone else patented and produces a reasonably good facsimile thereof.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.