Frontera

In 2019, Montreal-based experimental group Fly Pan Am returned after more than a decade of inactivity, releasing the mind-bending opus Cest ca and composing the score for the contemporary dance piece Frontera. Directed by Diana Gingras and performed by Animals of Distinction, Frontera premiered at the Grand Theatre du Quebec in November, and a studio recording of the music was released in 2021. Fitting for a dance performance, much of the score focuses on steadily rhythmic material, without much of the deconstructed weirdness the group is known for, but its still far from predictable. Starting out with hissing noise, opener Grid / Wall builds up a brittle disco beat, which evolves into more of a minimalist rock rhythm, as layers of fluttering synth sequences and flaring guitars shift in and out. Parkour is grittier and more revved up, with a more distinctive guitar riff at the beginning. It gets more ethereal as it goes, then it becomes doused in flames, ending with black metal shrieking, as the rhythm remains insistent all the while. Parkour 2 picks up on the same idea and intensifies it even further, making the rhythm faster and the guitars clearer, then eerily approximating a haunting chorus with one of the guitar lines near the end. Aside from these standouts, the mood shifts with a few shorter dark ambient pieces, like the appropriately titled Scanner, then the album ends up feeling relatively cooled off but still tense. Frontier is a sparse, slow-motion tripper that gradually becomes consumed by a wash of white noise. Fly Pan Ams Frontera score is some of their most trance-inducing work, harnessing the power of repetition while retaining a crucial element of surprise. ~ Paul Simpson