Crisis of Taste is thrilled to offer ‘The Synthetic Elements’, a new LP by stalwarts of the outré Avant Garde, Idea Fire Company. For the better part of three decades Karla Borecky and Scott Foust have charted their own distinct course through the choppy waters of the experimental underground, their only interaction with the countless flash in the pan trends whipping passed their sails being a direct refutation of them.

Often enjoying the company of a number of like-minded champions of the cause, ‘The Synthetic Elements’ sees the core duo of Borecky and Foust continuing the reductive tactics of their most recent ‘chamber music’ period, as heard on landmark albums ‘Music From The Impossible Saloon’ (Kye, 2011) and ‘Lost At Sea’ (Recital, 2015), whilst simultaneously expanding the infrastructure towards new heights of grandeur. An intoxicatingly playful, yet hopeless atmosphere is established through deceptively simple conversations between Borecky’s stately, withering piano phrasing and Foust’s dicey, yet assured treatments for synth, radio, guitar and occasionally more discreet sources. The looping artificial pieces that open and close each side (harkening back to 1999’s ‘Anti Natural’) seal up shop with no hope for escape.

Another superb IFCO record, it is as simple and complex as all such a statement suggests. ‘The Synthetic Elements’ arrives in an edition of 300, black vinyl w/ full color, Borecky-designed sleeves, expertly mastered by Grammy-nominated producer Zupe. “The Sinking Ship” hasn’t sunk just yet.