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Sam Prekop, "The Republic"
Prekop’s first modular synthesizer solo album (2010's Old Punch Card) came as quite a surprise, but he adapted to the instrument extremely well and later used it to excellent effect on The Sea and Cake's Runner. He returns with another solo synth opus and the only real surprise this time is how great it is: Prekop seems intent on making an unexpected run to the head of the synth revival pack.  While I do not think Alessandro Cortini needs to start panicking that he will stop getting calls for gigs anytime soon, the nine pieces that comprise the "Republic" half of The Republic are as masterfully composed, assured, beautiful, and effortlessly contemporary as anything by any of the genre's other luminaries.
The first half of The Republic is devoted to the 9-part title work, which comprises the meat of the album.  Unusually, the various segments of "The Republic" were composed to soundtrack an installation by David Hartt at the David Nolan Gallery in Manhattan, which makes perfect sense, as Sam himself is also an accomplished visual artist.  However, it has generally been my experience that releasing the musical component of a multimedia work by itself is a sure-fire recipe for disappointment.  The Republic, to its everlasting credit, somehow bucks that trend.  None of the pieces that comprise "The Republic" sound like a backdrop to anything: they all sound like lush, warm, complexly layered, vibrantly pulsing, and fully formed works.  Well, almost fully formed–the sole downside to "The Republic" is that several segments only last for a minute or less.  That is probably a limitation of the technology itself though: Prekop came up with a lot of great motifs that work very well together and was wise to keep his various patches from overstaying their welcome.  My favorite moments are the hissing and quivering drone of "Republic 1" and the insectoid chittering and sputtering of "Republic 5," but the whole suite stands as an excellent work.
The second half of the album consists of somewhat longer individual compositions that are unrelated to Hartt's installation.  As with the "Republic" material, they are all basically pure modular synth compositions, but they vary a bit more in aesthetic.  Also, each seems to depart from "The Republic" material in at least one significant way.  For example, "Weather Vane" initially seems like it would fit fairly well, but then a big, thumping kick drum pulse turns up.  "The Loom," on the other hand, features the kind of maniacal repetition that I associate with early Severed Heads, though Prekop uses it as starting point rather than an end unto itself.  The remaining four pieces, for their part, are all similarly divergent and range from candy-colored, cheery Kosmische pastiche ("A Geometric") to darker and chunkily propulsive works like "Music In Pairs."
While they are objectively good, I do not like the non-"Republic" pieces nearly as much as the "Republic" ones.  The reason for that is somewhat complex, but they essentially fall into the same trap that a lot of noise music does: it sounds like Prekop was pleased that he was able to wrest some appealing sounds from a complex, unpredictable piece of equipment and consequently put them on his album.  Unfortunately, when that happens, the result usually sounds a lot like other artists.  "The Republic" suite, on the other hand, sounds like a distinctive composition that evokes an appealingly bittersweet and mysterious mood.  While it was certainly made using modular synths, it feels like they were merely a tool used to realize a coherent, deliberate vision rather than the driving force for that vision.  That said, as far as I am concerned, the non-"Republic" pieces are basically bonus tracks tacked on to pad the main course.  Consequently, they do not diminish Sam’s achievement at all: I would probably prefer an album devoted entirely to "Republic"-style pieces, but I am certainly delighted by the nine that I got.
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