Fluke Album: “Risotto”

I bought this CD on a whim. Having heard only a few Fluke tracks before, and not quite knowing what to expect, I was blown away... It begins with Absurd, a rather abstract piece which gains high energy early in and stays as such through the whole piece. Atom Bomb is next, it's Fluke's most commercial success, and having been on several soundtracks, including The Saint, is the song most people think of when they think of Fluke. Its energy is amazing. Kitten Moon is next, with its trace-like elements slowing things down. Mosh kicks things up again, an excellent instrumental, then flows smoothly into Bermuda. Setback is slower and a little more focussed, but soon moves into Amp and Reeferendrum, two solid instrumentals. Squirt knocks in the bizarre lyrics again, and the final track, Goodnight Lover, is dark and fast... Overall, it is an amazing and very involving CD...

To tell you the truth, I had never heard of Fluke until Amazon recommended them to me because I had bought some Underworld stuff. I then read that several tracks on Risotto had been used in commercials and movies. So, I took a chance and got this. This CD is just as good or better than many of my other techno/electronica stuff and that includes stuff by Moby, Orbital, The Orb, Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, and more. The 2 tracks that everyone has heard are the first 2, Absurd and Atom Bomb. Absurd was even featured in a Volkswagen commercial. Amp and Squirt are other high-octane tracks. Kitten Moon and Goodnight Lover are fine ambient, chill tracks. Not every track is good, but with tracks like Absurd, Atom Bomb, Amp, Squirt, Goddnight Lover, and Kitten Moon, it doesn't really matter. It's not like the CDs that are popular today have more than 2 or 3 good songs on it. Anyway you owe it to yourself to pick up this gem. Highly recommended to Underworld fans.

When I first bought this CD about two years ago I was taking a chance that Im sure all techno-lovers have and bought a CD only knowing of one song that I had ever heard of from this group. Of course that song was Atom Bomb which I had heard on the movie Senseless.

The first time I listened to the CD all the way through I didnt like it other than Absurd and Atom Bomb. So lets just say I am very happy I gave it a second chance. Fluke is a group you have to listen to extremely loud because if you dont you miss so much that goes on and that was what my problem was the first time I heard it.

This CD puts you on a rollercoaster the beginning is very fast and moving (Absurd, Atom Bomb) then it slows down just to let you catch your breathe (Kitten Moon, Mosh, Bermuda) then comes the upwards climb just before it picks up speed again (Setback, Amp) {Amp is the one song on the CD that took me the longest to like but it has become probably my favorite song on the CD now} then your back to speed (Reeferendum, Squirt) and then when its all over just as your getting off (Goodnight Lover) it makes you want more and to do it again.

Okay, I admit. I really don't know much about Fluke, and the reason I got the CD was because when I was reading Juno reactor reviews, there was a link that said "people who bought this item also bought albums by". So it was completely chance that I chose this one. After about 2 listen throughs, with a bit of skipping around, I really didn't like it. It seemed too dreary overall. Then, I got a good listen to the end song. The last song - Goodnight Lover - was amazing. This made me go back and listen to the entire thing all the way through. THIS is what got me understanding the whole CD. It sounded a lot better, and I heard a lot more of the cool sound they were sending off. At first I thought this was just mediocre, but the last song changes it to good, even though I am not exactly sure how. Great variety, and even though the lyrics don't make a whole lot of sense, they are creative and catchy. It is also a great album for a long trip in the car...sort of like sleep music for the day if you can understand that. Once again, the last song was the best, other notables being 1,3, and 9. I'd give it a good 85%, you will probably like this album!

The first time I heard Fluke's music was when I heard a song called Atom Bomb which was on a compilation CD by Gillian Anderson on Virgin called Future: A Journey Through The Electric Underground. It made me realise there was yet another band out there that truly knows what they are doing.

Their masterful manipulation of sounds, mixing expertise and those vocals put Fluke firmly on track for much deserved commercial success in that next millenium we're all so looking forward to.

A live show in Vancouver earlier this month laid any fears to rest that this was a one hit band. Song after amazing sounding song was laid out for all to hear, nothing in the way, just great music, and the album has more of the same. More than enough cool stuff to make it a mainstay in any electronic music lovers collection, and with most songs coming in at around 7 minutes you're definitely going to be taken places before being dropped back to earth.

Songs like Bermuda complete with futur! istic dub feel and laid back vocals, Amp which builds itself up and up and Goodnight Lover with its space age sequenced spy themes give the listener many interesting angles on the music of a band that is still defining its sound in many different ways. High definition cymbal samples, constantly changing drum loops, frenetic percussion fills, many and varied effects embellishments and those cold as ice vocals make this album a joy to listen to.

Listen out for Absurd which, devoid of a censored expletive which unfortunately confined Atom Bomb to dance events and pirate radio stations, should be getting airplay in a town near you.

Definitely one of my favourite releases this year, and apart from a one second time difference between a few of the song lengths printed on the album cover and those shown on the CD player console on my Mac, this album is damm near flawless.