Chalk Dinosaur: Flow State

Chalk Dinosaur, the brainchild of indie musician John O’ Hallaron, has come to be known as an exceedingly eclectic act. The music on most of his releases blatantly rejects the idea of genres or classification, throwing in funk, hip-hop, rock, shoe-gaze and electronica into one big melting pot. On Flow State, we are once again given the pleasure of watching this mad wizard doing what he does.

The first things we notice heading into Flow State are the considerably long track lengths. An average cut on the album lasts around 6-7 minutes, while the 12-minute title-track is the longest. But this hardly matters after we press play. Rather than concretely composed pieces, the tracks are meant to work like extensive, prolonged jams that you dance to in a live setting.

While the album is rooted in electronica, it seems to be formless, constantly morphing into various styles. There are fiery guitar leads in the middle of loud, melodic EDM riffs, and often, tracks break into full-fledged rock jams, like on Air Around Us around the minute mark. Another example of this erraticism comes at the beginning of Green Fox, where a tense hip-hop beat segues into an infectious dance rhythm.

Favorite Track: Air Around Us

9/10

Track List
1. Studio 4
2. Air Around Us
3. Green Fox
4. Foster’s
5. Flow State
6. Sci Fi
7. Funk Fries
8. Donutman
9. Let Go
10. East Wind
11. Darkness and Light
12. Groovy Jam
13. Imperial
14. Breathe On You Crazy Diamond in the Sky
15. Space Connector
16. Sun Goes Down Again