POSSIBILITIES

POOR GENETIC MATERIAL is a hard working German-Scottish outfit that has been around for a quarter century, a rare group that successfully shifted from ambient to crossover, and in recent years has incorporated both, blending in funk as well, perhaps inspired by vocalist PHIL GRIFFITH's involvement with ALIAS EYE. This is the first full band album in 4 years, having remastered an earlier classic and released a stripped down band effort in the interim.

My first dalliance was the superlative "A Day in June" close to 10 years ago, and I was inspired to work backwards through their fine discography, then forwards with each new offering. "Absence" and "Here Now" can now be seen as transitional works that alternated atmospheric passages with traditional rock and even classically inspired flute, but the melodic quotient was declining, particularly on the latter, and more and more of the individual tunes lived in me as mayflies that met untimely deaths. This was all the more evident on 2023's "Elsewhere", whose highlights were mostly the tracks that had already appeared in the interim (eg "Stargazing").

Now we have "Possibilities" in which the transformation seems complete. With R&B overtones, harsher vocals that fail to exploit GRIFFITHS' talent as in the past, chaotic and muddy arrangements, and, most disppointingly given the band's past successes, nary a hook or groove in the mix ("Rain" being a mild exception). Worst of all, father MARTIN GRIFFITHS' singing entry this go-around is the disposable "Old Buffoon", which, to put it mildly, doesn't compare favourably to, say, "Chalk Hill Blues" from a seemingly distant and superior project. Even Pia Darmstaedter's flutes seem set apart from everything else that is happening, like the member of a clique who is no longer considered cool enough to belong, but whom nobody has mustered the courage to banish.

I suppose every band must evolve, and both artist and fan alike hope that they can grow together. This is so difficult for me as a long time aficionado. I am reminded of how I was pretty much the only reviewer who didn't like the ELOY Jeanne D'Arc trilogy, and I feel similarly alone here, with the general consensus being favorable. While I will always have time for a new PGM as it appears. I'm thoroughly disappointed, though I acknowledge the possibility that I may have missed something.