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Review by Bill Binkelman Claiming that Frozen Paint On Boiling Canvas is the most accessible album yet from Ozone Player, a.k.a. Finnish EM/ambient whiz-kid Otso Pakarinen, is a deceptive statement. The CD is still chock full of his typical quirky inventive approach to electronic music as well as plenty of his devilish sly wit (check out the mischievous grin he sports in the photo inside of the album!). What is newly present, though, is a way of wrapping his subversive darkly tinted brand of EM around catchy refrains and rhythms that, while still non-pedestrian, now allow the less adventurous to be captivated by their infectious grooves and insistent pulsing beats. In addition, while Pakarinen still employs some of the more unusual electronic keyboards around, he also has included more mainstream user-friendly instrument sounds here and there. As has been the case in the past, Pakarinen delivers plenty of variety. The CD starts off with the mildly dystopian "The Sprawl" which mixes traffic sounds at its outset with clanging gongs and buzzing synth textures, morphing into a harmony melody on plucked harp and for his main instrument a snaky sensual retro EM keyboard winding its way in and out of the song much as a frenzied commuter would weave his or way through traffic in a Los Angeles rush hour. "We Are All Carrying The Burden Of Our Future" sounds more like vintage Ozone Player, what with shuffling textures, several layers of rapid-fire percussion, and whirring keyboards, all of these combined to impart a sense of frantic desperation but with just enough lightening of the mood to please both doomsayers as well as those that ponder "what are we gonna do about this mess?" His characteristic circus/carnival keyboards sound interject even more levity into the bridge of the song. Longtime fans of Ozone Player are going to think they have the wrong CD when they hear the flutes and neo-Celtic airs of "Edgewood." Otso doing a softly romantic new age tune? Well, why the hell not, especially when he allows his skewed musical personality to peak through now and then amidst all the prettiness. Two tracks later comes my favorite song on the CD, "From A To B," a deliciously subtle excursion into quiet subdued electronica, with reverberating bell tones and wavery synths intermixing in intoxicating fashion. The piece has a futuristic slant to it and boy, would I love to hear Pakarinen do a straight-up chill-out album some day if he can create something like this! Almost as good is the retro EM dramatic anthem "Sometimes It Is Not As Always" which has harpsichord analog-ish keyboards slugging it out with bell tones and pulsing beats and notes. Fear not if you are a lover of O.P.'s past releases such as the off the wall e or his earlier Insane Logic as tracks like "Limping Alien" and "Freudian Sleep" contain plenty of this artist's integration of manifold unique electronic music elements into cohesive statements that combine equal parts whimsy and pessimism. When taken as a whole, Frozen Paint On Boiling Canvas is probably the darkest recording from Pakarinen, even comparable to the bleak work from the duo Circular. However, with songs like the concluding "Whatever Happened To The Emperor's Old Clothes?" (a patiently developing ambient piece that ends the CD on a slow tempo soundscape note) Pakarinen doesn't allow the listener to sit in the brooding dark all the time. By allowing his music to occasionally wander over into friendlier accessible territory at times, Pakarinen has not abandoned his muse but merely opened the door wider to allow more listeners access to his solitary vision of contemporary electronic music. I consider this to be his most consistently enjoyable work so far and hope he continues to split his persona between the quirky and the "easy to digest" because the mixture of the two yields some truly tasty tidbits. The CD comes highly recommended! |
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