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Futuropaco — Fortezza di Vetro Volume 2
(El Paraiso EPR079, 2025, LP)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-04-18

Fortezza di Vetro Volume 2 Cover art

Justin Pinkerton may well be one of the Bay Area’s best kept secrets, though his work as a drummer, producer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist goes back a good 25 years. Somewhere deep in those used bins at Amoeba Records one might unearth the recordings of some of his earlier bands: The Roots of Orchis, Omayang, Rafter, The Finches, Planes of Satori, and perhaps most important of all, Golden Void, even though they lasted only a few years. Following Golden Void’s last album in 2015, Pinkerton began releasing music under his own name and also as Futuropaco, the latter a culmination of all he had built on before, a psychedelic groove-based sound like no other, and the eponymous debut album was released on El Paraiso in 2018. 2023 saw the release of a second album Fortezza di Vetro (Volume 1), and now we have the second and final part of the Fortezza di Vetro series in 2025. As one might expect from a player who has been laying down drum parts for a quarter century, the rhythms are always interesting, and often amazing, but Pinkerton plays all of the instruments, guitars, bass, synthesizers, flutes, santoor, and more, layering each one on top of the other as needed, capably composing, producing, and engineering this masterpiece that will set your mind spinning to the stars. It’s all instrumental, so there are no vocals to get in the way of great music, the essence of what great psychedelic music is — or should be. The nine tracks are mostly in the four-to-five minute range, nothing so long as to wear the listener down or bog down with too much repetition; Pinkerton’s masterful approach to writing and arranging gets it just right. Near the end of side one the listener will encounter “Crollo Capitalista,” beginning modestly with three chords repeating, until the drums are introduced and everything catches fire from there on out; five minutes later you’ll be playing it again. The opening of side one, “Spirale Descendre,” catches fire immediately and works through some interesting guitar and synth passages, while “Terra Che Non Respire” on side two favors a distinct Middle Eastern flavor translated into a powerful psychedelic groove. This is one not to be missed.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Futuropaco (Justin Pinkerton)

More info
http://youtu.be/8OEu0xvWiu0
http://elparaisorecords.com/product/futuropaco-fortezza-di-vetro-vol-2/

 

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