Dumb Flesh

Reception

Dumb Flesh was met with positive critical reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album has received a metascore of 77, based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares awarded the album four out of five stars and observed that:"loaded with undeniable hooks and beats, the album is "dumb" in the best way possible, and embraces the "flesh" part of its title by making bodies move. It's far more dancefloor-oriented than any of Power's [Benjamin John Power] work with either of his projects, and more interesting than a none-more-black exploration of physical frailty." Nina Corcoran, writing for Consequence of Sound:"The album is vivid between shadows, pulsing with the diseased blood of a body slowly losing its motivation to carry on. Had Power pushed himself to soundtrack this deconstruction through the minimalist nature of his quiet work, though, Dumb Flesh could have been fully realized." Tristan Bath from Drowned in Sound opined that it was:"This is beautiful, disgusting, danceable, and nightmarish music. It allures and repels in equal measure, bursting with thoughtful concepts and successful experiments in sculpting electronic noises into something danceable, melodic and meaningful." Pitchfork critic Nathan Reese observed that:"Fuck Buttons may be unlikely stars, but their music's pure momentum almost guaranteed its audience by force alone. Like Power's best work, Dumb Flesh moves you when it literally moves you." Ian King, writing for PopMatters, rated the album eight stars out of ten and described it as:"Powers puts the body at the forefront of his audience’s mind is by suggesting that they move it. In a U-turn from the cerebral escape of Blanck Mass, Dumb Flesh stretches tautly over gnarled techno bones." Exclaim! reviewer Daniel Sylvester, who scored the album eight out of ten, opined that it was:"As one half of electronic psych drone purveyors Fuck Buttons, Power originally created Blanck Mass to explore beatless and formless ambient music. With the release of his follow-up, Dumb Flesh, Power abandons this singular musical mode, bringing with him myriad recording styles and techniques."

Ben Ratliff from The New York Times commented that:"he’s giving you something you might find familiar or even commercial by its basic outlines. But he’s still got ways to make it uncanny: close, loud and abrupt." The Quietus reviewer James Ubaghs observed that:"A reoccurring feature is the way that vocal samples frequently sound like synths, and synths sound almost like vocals, on the verge of attaining sentience. It's like the music itself is becoming alive; digital detritus playfully beckoning you to new horizons." Sam Shepherd, in his review for musicOMH commented:"There are some fine moments here, but all too often Dumb Flesh seems like a diluted version of Fuck Buttons. That’s not to say that this is a poor record, far from it. But, good though it is, it feels like a missed opportunity to establish Blanck Mass’ individuality."

Track listing

All tracks written by John Power.