Over three years since
the Ananda Project's last full-length album, the lengthy, seamlessly eclectic
Fire Flower neatly encapsulates the smooth, groove-oriented chillout vibe endemic to
Chris Brann's vision. Moving easily from micro-genre to micro-genre between tracks, with Terrance Downs and
Heather Johnson, as always, handling the lion's share of the vocals,
Fire Flower never sounds like a mishmash of currently fashionable ideas.
Brann has developed not only a trademark sound but also a subtly effective set of alterations that keeps
the Ananda Project sounding fresh, and
Fire Flower is as good as anything the producer has yet created. Although the album works beautifully as a whole, the particular standouts are first single "Into the Sunrise," a showcase for Downs that is likely the closest thing to a genuine pop single
the Ananda Project has yet managed, and the ambient closer "Remember When." ~ Stewart Mason