FERENTINO'S BEDTIME FOR ROBOTS: AN ENTRANCING PHASE 2

I'm shamelessly partial to Michael Ferentino's Bedtime for Robots, as my readers know. The latest gathering of tracks, Phase 2 (as  insiders have come to call it), is no exception to the rule and may be the project's most profound compilation to date.  

As with any Bedtime for Robots ensemble, Phase 2's arrangement creates a hypnotic draw. In truth, this particular offering is, as Ferentino puts it,  a "goodbye album to the early 21st century", which makes it also a sort of farewell lullaby. However, it won't lull one to sleep as much as it'll awaken one's most audacious reflections. 

"Strange Faceless" stands as my current, most-listened-to track (partly due to its phantasmagorical video). Its unorthodox texture epitomizes the compilation's thematic temperament, presenting a headlining journey into unidentifiable but inviting turf. (Think of it along the lines of Hans Salter's "Treacherous Trek" from Jack Arnold's "The Mole People", only more upbeat in its beckoning breadth, but no less odd or risky for all of its adventurous smoothness.)  

The album's other selections extend the anesthetic buzz, smacking of Herbie Hancock; Kraftwerk; and maybe, just maybe (if one rolls with the interluding punches), a smidgen of Jerry Goldsmith, redesigned by the Moody Blues.  

These elements are most recognizable in what might be the undisputed champ of mechanical madness, "St. Valentine's Day Massacre", but they also mark the nibbling "Infamous Blasphemous" and "Sweet Earth Holes": compositions that would make the great Fritz Lang kneel in respect.   

To complement the dystopian aura, we also have the super-gnawing "Ineffective"; the sensually robotic "Eliza"; the "Blade Runner"-ish "Lost Film" and "Synthetic Hex"; plus what could act as an alternate, "Peter Gunn" accompaniment, "Corporate Radiation", which in the context of the compelling queue, reinforces the ambivalent urge to rest and revolt. 

At other times, Phase 2 fizzes of hot-and-bothered cynicism, characterized by the hip, scientific tones of "Move 37"; "Human Replacement"; and the big-time rockin' "FTS", which will get one dancin' and prancin' like there ain't no tomorrow. Though these select tracks sometimes insinuate peril, their soulful hearts enchant as much as the others, solidifying the album's existential effect. 

Phase 2 also contains three, superlative bonus tracks: "Lamb Offerings", "Thing" and "The Long Walk Home from Sanity", which cap the silvery stream with just the right snappiness. 

No matter how one hopes to pigeonhole it (and there's no way one can), Phase 2 is an exceptional gift to Bedtime for Robots fans, forging the type of escapism that only Ferentino can formulate: an orchestrated pill that makes everything edgy and at the same time, right as rain.  

Embrace Ferentino's entrancing work at 
https://bedtimeforrobots.bandcamp.com/album/bedtime-for-robots?fbclid=IwAR13GcyCbdWTMYtFDc9SYEVFyz2xfKF-n1wu6zHpxyJkueMYcVBsX1pYBi8