AMG Review of Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996)

Nitsuh Abebe
All Music Guide

Fans of a particular Chicago sound -- the minimal, angular hardcore sound usually associated with Steve Albini, who produced half of the tracks on Flemish Altruism -- have a wonderful band in A Minor Forest. The songs collected on the album are sprawling and usually more laid-back than the sound implies, sometimes sounding like Shellac's more sparse work and sometimes slowing down to resemble the darker, bass-heavy offerings of Low ("Ed is 50"), but the band has the ability to explode into a full-scale hardcore sound. For those interested in song-based pop, this is not the right album, but anyone who can settle into a creepy crawl of heavy bass and off-kilter guitars will find this is an excellent work.