In retrospect, it's pretty amazing that the first two Fenn O'Berg albums went so well. Side projects between established solo artists tend to produce more mediocrity than magic-- even if every participant is on point, the result often lacks the kind of intuitive communication that usually takes years to establish. But on 1999's Magic Sound of Fenn O'Berg and 2002's Return of Fenn O'Berg, Viennese laptop guru Christian Fennesz, British electronic wizard Peter Rehberg, and American multi-tasker Jim O'Rourke sounded like they'd been conversing sonically for a while. The fact that both albums came from the tightrope-walk of live performance made their chemistry especially impressive.
Perhaps the only thing more impressive would be for that chemistry to survive a nine-year hiatus. Unfortunately, on In Stereo the Fenn O'Berg magic has faded. Recorded last fall in a Tokyo studio, it sounds more like the work of a project than a band. Even when things do click, there's an aura of predictability that never quite lifts, producing something that's hard to dislike but even harder to get lost in.
Much of that effect is due to the trio's oddly limited palette. Previous albums were kaleidoscopic, filled with everything from cinematic string samples to robotic voices to cartoonish effects. Those many surprises meant repeat visits could reveal new colors and patterns. But most of the sounds on In Stereo-- windy whooshes, machine-like whirrs, shortwave squiggles-- are pretty run-of-the-mill for electronic music. The trio works hard to mix them up in new ways, and they succeed at least half the time. But the incessant familiarity weighs the album down. The more I listen, the more theses pieces seem to shrink rather than expand.
Still, there is well-crafted sound on In Stereo. The title's no joke-- the trio makes good use of the stereo space, circling their sounds around each other so everyone has room to move. In "Part V", that 3D quality creates a busy mix, with high-pitched drones turning into underwater rumbles, rhythmic noise, and a beatific close that hints at Fennesz's best dream-scapes. Even better is "Part VII", which begins sharp and brittle as bed of needles, then crests into a wash of digital foam. In fact, skip around and pick a track here, a passage there, a note anywhere, and In Stereo sounds pretty good. But let it just play, and it slips past without much impact-- at least not the kind of impact Fenn O'Berg have made in the past.
Of course, it was a risk for them to resurrect this project so long after their initial triumphs. Much transpired in the intervening years, both in their respective careers and within the many sub-genres of electronic music, and the range of new things to be said has narrowed. So you have to admire them for taking on this challenge, but the ambition of the task just isn't matched by the sounds applied to it. Yet I wouldn't bet against them getting it right if they try again. Let's hope it happens, because even though In Stereo has its moments, they don't deserve to be Fenn O'Berg's last.
