When Man is Full He Falls Asleep
by Epstein Y El Conjunto
LABEL: Asthmatic Kitty

When Man is Full He Falls Asleep is perhaps the most fitting title for this latest offering from mad-scientist sample-artist Roberto C. Lange, under the guise of Epstein (a.k.a. Helado Negro). Anyone familiar with Lange's prolific work all over the areas of music, sound design, and soundtracks will immediately recognize the frenetic beauty and meticulously chaotic assembly within the new record, but it curiously leaves one feeling less than full as a whole work. Whether a cognitive challenge from the artist himself or not, the album still has plenty to appreciate.

“There is a greater focus on instrumentation on this record, and while the sound is never carried too far from its urban electronic origins, these elements pronounce Epstein’s naturalism.”

Lange’s ever present aptitude at finding beauty in dissonant sample collection is certainly here, weaving together seemingly disparate sonic textures and bouncing from form to form with an almost attention deficient pace. The album balances its more eccentric moments with equal portions of electronic ambiance and mood, drenching the entire assortment in lo-fi dub glory that gives everything an organic quality that Lange has almost perfected into a trademark. There is a greater focus on instrumentation on this record, and while the sound is never carried too far from its urban electronic origins, these elements pronounce Epstein’s naturalism.

But while Lange's prior full-length, Music for Memory, seemed to allow plenty of room for indulgence and longer track times to evolve into almost trance-like states, the pieces that comprise WMIFHFA seem too short more often than not, and songs that could either drone you into submission or fluctuate radically tend to fizzle quickly before the next track. The tracks don't seem pushed and end up letting you go almost as soon as they take hold inside you, resulting in an album that can lock you in one moment but leave you distractable the next. Both the production and the composition feel more restrained, showing signs of evolution from the balls-against-the-bathroom-stall ruckus of Music
for Memory, but it doesn't pop out at you either (perhaps using ”˜pop out’ after a bathroom analogy is a little tactless, but...).

The vague glaze that encapsulates the album are broken by many points where the music steps up and knocks you to the floor, and they're distributed evenly enough through the album to keep everything together and create an album that would be unwisely ignored. “When We Hide (This Time)” is a disturbing little number that could accompany psychedelic elephants turned loan-sharks, “Una Tarde”’s throb and bass could crush steel pillars and the atmosphere created by "A Lost Animal” (featuring School of Seven Bells) is like bathing in space. By the end, When Man is Full He Falls Asleep is a difficult journey matching its faults with its strengths, and remains a compelling installment in Lange's own artistic journey.


REVIEWED BY NEIL LEVENS
NEIL'S FAVORITE TRACKS: “When We Hide (This Time)” • “El Condor Depierta (El Conjunto Edit)”
 • “A Lost Animal (featuring School of Seven Bells)”