Crommie, Daniel: A Factor Of One

So prolific is musician and composer Daniel Crommie that another two albums have arrived since this August 2023 release, and much though I haven’t heard them, I’m banking that they sound nothing like each other and nothing like A Factor Of One. Crommie is not a man to stand still and that is something that can be applied not only to how much music he creates, but also the variety he provides. What ties all of these differing styles together is the main man’s flute and woodwind playing, his signature style on these instruments finding an almost percussive approach adding floating airs to tracks that on this occasion can feel a little sparse and intentionally remote. Where this album differs from many of those I’ve heard before from this chap is that I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’ve landed in an 80s pop synth world, but one that definitely isn’t being played for laughs.

Revolving around electronics that click, tick and flick into place, in the likes of “Your Secret�, it’s the sparsity of arrangement that actually gives the impression that an awful lot is going on, whether that be the continuous beat, floating flute or the controlled vocals. When pushed a little harder, we get the almost 80s chart bothering effects of “Plastic Pop (Eat It Again)�, which might just fade to grey in its intentions. Here the voice is electronically treated and while the world it arrives in could be viewed as remote and sterile, there’s a playful edge to the whole affair that stops it from becoming just a little too straight-laced for its own good. “Lazy Sun� is the track tasked with sending this album out into the open, the repetitive nature setting this collection’s stall out in fine fashion, before “This Is My Rhythm� moves things a little more into the woodwind, near world music sound that I more associate with Daniel Crommie, and yet his disaffected vocal delivery this time round keeps everything neatly tied together in terms of theme and tone.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always readily connect with the ever evolving sounds from Daniel Crommie, and if you’d have asked me if I would have expected him to turn in this 80s tinged effort I’d have probably answered with a firm no. A Factor Of One proves me wrong in quite determined fashion and with a fair amount of success.

Track Listing
1. Lazy Sun
2. This Is My Rhythm
3. Jackrabbit Hwy.
4. Anyone Listening?
5. Repeat Offender
6. Your Secret
7. A Prisoner Of Paradise
8. Lost In Thought
9. Plastic Pop (Eat It Again)
10. Automatic Transmission
11. Brave New Day

Added: February 16th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Daniel Crommie @ bandcamp
Hits: 662
Language: english

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