written by Ben Hogwood

A confession: the return of Fluke in April completely passed me by. My excuse is two-fold – 1) I wasn’t expecting new music from the band, given we hadn’t heard anything in 15 years, and 2) it’s surprisingly difficult to keep up with new music these days, with so many digital outlets.

What a pleasure, then, to discover that both their April return Insanely Beautiful and this new single Real Magnificent are up to the same high standards of their 1990s peak – while staying nicely ahead of the game. Real Magnificent arrives in a number of guises. The original has a slight country accent to its vocals and riffing, while the two remixes from sLEdger, are a shimmering, atmospheric house take and a moody pared-back dub. The JC remix blends tough beats and blurry imagery, pumped up but losing a little of the atmosphere, which the All Buttons In version retains.

You can access all these versions at the Fluke Bandcamp site, the mixes delivered with the same no-nonsense effectiveness that the band have always shown. It’s great to have them back!

Published post no.2,338 – 21 October 2024