Fly Pan Am
Frontera
Release Date: May 21, 2021
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Rock, Experimental Rock, Soundtracks, Stage & Screen, Noise-Rock
Record label: Constellation
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Album Review: Frontera by Fly Pan Am
Great, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 4
Even if you hadn't been told up front that Frontera came about as a collaboration between cherished Montreal post rockers Fly Pan Am, lighting designers United Visual Artists (UVA) and Animals Of Distinction, the innovative contemporary dance troupe led by fellow Montreal native Dana Gingras, a cursory glance at some of the song titles on the emotional record, (such as Parkour, Body Pressure, Scaling and, um, Parkour 2), should have given you some indication of the direction the album would take, dealing primarily as it does with motion and the urban landscape. Nimble and inquisitive in their unique approaches, it's genuinely a surprise to learn that this is the first time someone had thought to pair the various mediums together. After a string of emotive releases on the Constellation label, run by their hometown friends Godspeed You! Black Emperor, between 1998 and 2004 followed by an extended hiatus, this is only the second release since the group’s welcome reformation in 2019 and that year's spectacular C'est ça LP.
Based on rating 7/10
In writing a score for dance performance, Montreal's Fly Pan Am also have succeeded in wrapping back around to their origins just over two decades ago. Along with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Do Make Say Think, the four piece formed the early core of Constellation Records' lineup. Their earliest releases featured an aggressive blend of progressive rock, Krautrock, minimalism, noise and just a slight dusting of Franco-pop.
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