The Fourth Way is the fourth full length album for American electronic music artist Corey Allen, and shows an artist who is comfortable within their designated artistic parameters whilst not being afraid to test their creative boundaries.
It bursts into life with Exedra, a post-Fennesz number where call and response bursts of harsh noise morph into elegiac processed soundscapes. Whilst comparisons could be made to artists of the Fennesz / Whitman / Sakamoto / O’Rourke moulds, Allen’ works are far from derivative. Allen’ combination of Fender Rhodes, Moog Voyager and abstract algorhythmic computer patterns condenses into a coherent mass, with shimmering instrumentation providing a strong emotive bond that can be found lacking in such linear constructions.
The centerpiece is Telepathic Solve, a dark and foreboding synthesis of modular and granular textures that hints at an inner redemption despite an overpowering sadness. The Fourth Way also provides a depth that provides for listener speculation, with the minute long Chordata Analysis’ suggesting either a hard drive crash or the discovery of some particularly Geiger Counter friendly radioactive material.
Andrew Tuttle
