Comfort Fit - Worlds Falling Apart
The impressively versatile beat-builder, Boris Mezga (aka Comfort Fit,) returns with his long-awaited fourth solo album, Worlds Falling Apart, recently released on First Word Records. Bringing the future to the now, Comfort Fit takes us on a genre-spanning and lushly-layered journey, replete with pristine soundscapes, boisterous beats, delectably catchy licks, and some darker, more experimental eartreats, erratically planted throughout the production. Assembled as an enormously dense and hugely satisfying musical sandwich, Mezga opens the album with an epic 11 min-long introductory track, “Space Cake Scenario.” Starting off with some bleaker vibes, the tracks take a minute or two to paint you a somewhat grim & futuristic setting, eventually breaking down into a progressive patchwork of hip-hop and garage-infused beats, effectively exhibiting a wide range of Mezga's abilities in beat-sculpting and soundcraft.
“Bermuda,” a fun-filled, groove-ridden surf song (Comfort Fit-style) lightens the mood, continuing to expand our familiarity with Mezga's versatility and unique interpretations of familiar rhythms and genres. “Moonshine Navigator,” one of my personal picks from the release, entrances with an even-paced, bass-heavy beat filled out with a variety of organic percs and spacey synthesized outbursts. It conveys a sense of illicitness, risk, and exhilaration — a soundtrack for space smugglers escaping through an asteroid field. “Hypnic Jerk” is an absolutely outstanding track: heavy syncopated rhythms, bouncing bleeps & bloops, mind-reeling swells, sultry sighs, and a swarm of effects layered beneath to create one of the most complex and hypnotic tracks of the album.
“Nitro” sticks more or less to the hip-hop formula, with a smooth & conventional beat, blasts of brass, and scratchy samples; however, Mezga applies his trademark production tricks to turn this catchy “traditional” number into yet another highly dance-able track from a not-too-distant future. “Guess There's Nothing More To Say” is another track I couldn't help but be impressed by; a futuristic acid-jazz-turns-garage track with a very intimate feel (for the first half in particular) thanks to a warm and fuzzy piano sequence and some romantic melodic vocal samples — some of the only vocals employed on the entire album. The progression from the swooning, jazzy theme to a swirling, spaced-out, bass-driven one is remarkable, and downright fun to experience.
My all-time favorite track from this exceptional release is “The Holy Moment.” It is a song to take into the desert with you, as you search for answers to questions you didn't know you had. By far, the most somber (and possibly the most epic) number on the track list, the song invokes a strong feeling of nostalgia and summons some haunting imagery as it builds from a string-soaked operetta with a Western tinge and a near-classic jazz beat into an all out rhythmic melt-down, inducing a sense of rebirth as the percussive climax eventually unfolds back into a cinematic close. The title-track, “Worlds Falling Apart” is a soothing, down-tempo track; quite easy on the ears, if just a bit disquieting on a near-subliminal level. There is an undeniable level of cynicism in both Mezga's lyrics and in his chosen chord progressions that make this song intriguing, yet harder and harder to listen to with each play.
The album's final track, “Adolar Aluminium” is a 10.5 min-long drone experiment with massively saturated atmospheres, meticulously-placed bits of noise, and the swell of a brain-numbing pad here and there — void of rhythm or melody, but still unbelievably stimulating. Being a fan of drone and noise genres, I personally found it rather therapeutic — almost like a palette-cleanser for the ears and mind; giving the listener the opportunity to ponder and archive the experiences they garnished from the rest of the album — until the next listen..
Given the level of anticipation surrounding this release, I believe Boris Mezga has more than delivered the “goods” with Worlds Falling Apart. As a production, it is virtually flawless. Conceptually, I find it riveting and extraordinarily inventive. Emotionally? Perhaps a bit harrowing at times, but as with all good music, I appreciate its ability to affect me on an emotional level at all, even negatively. Fortunately, Mezga seems to have given quite a bit of thought to the placement of the tracks and the result is an emotive journey down an easy slope; at no point dull and consistently full of imagination and ingenuity — something I believe we can continue to expect and crave from the marvelously talented Comfort Fit.
Worlds Falling Apart is available now via Bandcamp.
Words by hmCm