Artist: Blackfield
Title: IV
Genre: Indie / Pop Rock
Release Date: 30th August 2013
Label: Kscope Records
Album Review
It is the fourth as it is the first - the latter mainly because it is indeed a new chapter of BLACKFIELD, beginning with the new album's release. STEVEN WILSON steps back to leave more of the stage for AVIV GEFFEN who began recording the songs alone while Wilson was working on his latest solo album. This is not to say BLACKFIELD is now going to become a solo project or anything. Geffen is just taking a leading role in it now. The opening 'Pills' is making quite an impression, being deeply melancholic, oppressive most of its duration it is a heavy thingy to start an album. This time, there are several prominent guests adding vocals to the album apart from Wilson's backing vocals. The first one to mention is ANATHEMA's Vincent Cavanagh on 'X-Ray' where his voice is firmly embedded in a sea of strings and reverb bound by liquid drum work.
'Sense of Insanity' is mood-wise a lighter take on the BLACKFIELD sound, involving the flickering of bright lights in the dark for longer than one would've expected. Brett Anderson's wonderful timbre is guiding listeners through the following 'Firefly' while Jonathan Donahue, which admittedly I had never heard a single word before this song does a wonderful job on 'The Only Fool Is Me', a largely acoustic track supported only by a string section that isn't too prominent in the mix, giving it a very intimate touch. The following 'Jupiter' is largely dominated by Wilson's haunting delivery on a moody bed of synthetic tranquillity which makes it the counterpart of 'Lost Souls', breaking out of the down-tempo realm for a while and bringing some verve. The closing and relatively short 'After the Rain' is the only track whose rhythmic section is made up of break beat electronics only. There are some exciting perspectives in that. I'd wished for them to have explored that further in adding a few extra minutes to the song.
No one would be surprised to hear me saying it sounds like BLACKFIELD, but it's true, even though it's audibly clear that Wilson's had less influence on the songs, even though it remains apparent. 'IV' is good as it is, even though it's not taking the band into unknown lands. The devil's in the details here folks.
Tracklist
01. Pills
02. Springtime
03. X-Ray
04. Sense Of Insanity
05. Firefly
06. The Only Fool Is Me
07. Jupiter
08. Kissed By The Devil
09. Lost Souls
10. Faking
11. After The Rain
Line-up
Aviv Geffen
Steven Wilson
Website
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blackfield/103704446366593
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8 / 10
Comments powered by CComment