It’s been almost 20 years since they made an album together, but the original members of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones seem to have not lost any of their original magic.
The time-tested band has come together once again in what will be the 12th album under the Flecktones moniker, and the first to include all original band members since 1992.
Fleck will perform with his Grammy award-winning Flecktones at the North Carolina Museum of Art on June 4. He said that the band, which is accustomed to writing and recording its songs while on tour, took advantage of downtime in order to work on the new album, titled “Rocket Science.”
“There was a little bit of shock when we first started, but quickly it melted away and it felt like 1992 was yesterday,” Fleck said in an e-mail. “In fact, I feel that ‘Rocket Science’ is much more a continuation of ‘UFO-Tofu’ than ‘The Hidden Land,’ which was released in 2006.”
Listeners will hear Fleck’s claims echo throughout the album as the band truly does build upon the speedy, jazz-infused theme of its third album.
Rocket Science welcomes the listener with “Gravity Lane,” a tune that opens with Fleck on the banjo. The return of Howard Levy, one of the founding members of the band, is apparent when Fleck is backed by a melodic coupling of chimes and harmonica.
The next track in the album, “Prickly Pear,” comes in with a heavy emphasis on the jazzy style fans are accustomed to, something that will bring a smile to anyone within earshot. The song can best be described as a balance between smooth strumming and a hook that features a calculated level of chaos. The overall effect straddles the fine line between obnoxious and genius extremely well.
As the album progresses, the songs begin to slow down to a more easygoing pace, utilizing the keyboard to carry songs at a pace suited best for sitting on a park bench, as opposed to the jiving beat of “Prickly Pear.”
One of the inherent drawbacks of solely instrumental albums is that listeners might become weary of the seemingly monotonous style. But the Flecktones have effectively worked out their songs to avoid that repetitive aura.
