Forma — Physicalist
Consisting of eleven songs at about 66 minutes, Physicalist shows Forma cutting a pretty wide path through a dense synth forest. Whether thick, layered drone pieces like "Collapse of Materialists" or near dance numbers like "Spin Glass," Forma utilizes their synthesizers to the utmost and create various forms of aural pleasure. Physicalist begins with the aforementioned layered drone piece, "Collapse of Materialists." Fairly lush and suggestive of something bigger, this one is a great opener. "Sane Man" switches gears and takes a more traditional approach. Drums keep the synths grounded and allow the higher accents to shine and bring a bright happiness to the track."Spin Glass" sees Forma upping the pace of the beat and challenging the listener to not dance. Synthy riffs (is that a thing?) and long decaying notes hearken back to the synths of my youth and make me feel instantly at home. Darker in tone and rife with arpeggios, "Ghosts" is a thoughtful, floating piece not held down by the sparse drums that it contains. Lofty, but still grounded with a beat, "Maxwell's Demon" uses synths more sparsely than previous tracks. These electronic notes are played in contrast to an in frequent, but very welcome piano. Feeling like something out of Beethoven, "Descent" uses arpeggios to form the meat of the track, while drums pulse and sweeping, floating highs help the listener to drift away. Continuing the drift, "Wanderer Imitates A Cloud" uses cascading layers to elevate the listener up to airy heights. Bringing the pianos back in, "As If Pianos Grew On Trees" has Forma going in a completely different direction. Backed by buzzing, swirling synths, the piano hammers in the foreground and delivers a fairly gloomy feeling. Revisiting the opener, "Collapse of Materialists 2" plays along the same line, only this time a little longer. The title track, "Physicalist," brings us back to softer, almost danceable synths and beats. Hectic and almost tribal at times, this one will definitely get your head nodding for it's 10 minute run time. Ending on another different note, "Improvisation for Flute and Piano" is a delicate, delightful number. The piano moves this one along side cymbal flourishes making a great base for a thoughtful, almost Japanese flute. Quite a departure from the rest of the album, but very well done, this is an excellent finish to Physicalist.
Using synths, piano, drums, and flute, Forma's latest, Physicalist, takes the listener on many journeys through well put together tracks. This three piece offers up a lot of sound and variety. The closing track shows the talent behind Forma, and teases at another side of the band. Physicalist is a very solid record.