Maserati – Rehumanizer

If there’s one thing Maserati’s latest record can do it’s guarantee you a speeding fine. The six tracks that make up Rehumanizer are the kind of synth and power-guitar juggernauts that compel you to drive faster, to dance harder, to rave bigger. The curious thing about Rehumanizer, however, is that despite its aggregate punch, alone, none of the composite parts prove particularly memorable.

Each track endeavours to differentiate itself – there’s the shimmering, urgent synths that characterise No Cave; the colossal shuddering bassline that underscores Living Cell; and the echo-off-the-wall drums of Montes Jura, each striving for a point of difference.

The pieces of the Rehumanizer puzzle abound with nods to the likes of Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and other post-rock heavyweights, as does the best of Maserati's back catalogue. Despite all this exigency, though, there’s a sense that the band from Athens, Georgia are swirling around in a space vacuum, high on atmosphere yet devoid of concrete matter. Rehumanizer is in essence brilliant background music – a musical paradox indeed.