Saturday, January 9, 2016

Review: David Bowie- Blackstar


Blackstar album cover.jpg

One thing you can say about David Bowie is that he is never comfortable mining the same ground for long, and is constantly reinventing his image and music. I can appreciate his urge to evolve and try new things, even this late into his career. While some of his contemporaries felt more than comfortable to repeat the successful formula until the well ran dry, Bowie refused to rest on his laurels and instead carved out his own lane, flirting with many sounds in the process. As for me, my favorite Bowie material is probably that shared by many others; his glam rock era, as well as his Berlin era. The '80s claimed many other successful '70s pop acts, but David Bowie managed to survive that as well as his ill fated experimentation with Tin Machine.

But what do I think about this album? I can say it's certainly different. To paint a word picture, it sounds like a combination of jazz, new wave, IDM, and some classic crooning balladry. You might not think that these sound all that palatable together, but Bowie manages to do a good job making this sound cohesive. At points ('I Can't Give Everything Away') it comes off a little silly, but I feel like for the most part, this project is very interesting. I thought 'Lazarus' , the title track, and 'Girl Loves Me' were probably my favorite tracks off the album, and I think these were the ones that played with a darker tone.

Sometimes, I do get lost. The kind of Aphex Twin/ Radiohead style drum loops are sometimes a little too off kilter, and kind of throw off the drive of some of the tracks. There are moments that seem like there are some mismatched parts, with Bowie crooning with a lot of vibrato over very jittery beats and saxophone improvisation. It's definitely the most experimental Bowie has been on record in some time, if not ever.

So, I guess this album, though interesting, may not be for me. I can appreciate what Bowie is doing, and for what it is, I think he does it well, but what it is, may not be my cup of tea. I do think he's pushing the boundaries, and I'm glad he has the freedom to pursue what he wants. The thing about good musicians is that they will have many periods in their career, and not all of them have to please everyone. I still enjoy Rush in spite of Power Windows, and my appreciation for Radiohead didn't decline after King of Limbs came out. I'll still be looking forward to what David Bowie puts out next, because even though this didn't strike a chord with me personally, he is still putting out wildly experimental music. Maybe after some more listens, I'll have an epiphany moment, but for now, I like it, but I don't love it. Hats off to you, Bowie. Let your freak flag fly!

Out of a total of five album covers (get it?), I give this:


What did you think of the album? Let me hear it. I'll be looking at Kanye West's surprise song 'Real Friends', and sharing my thoughts on the SWISH release date announcement.

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