Artist: Willis Earl Beal
Album: Nobody Knows
Bitrate: 231kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: XL Recordings
Genre: Indie
Size: 99.43 megs
PlayTime: 0h 56min 56sec total
Rip Date: 2013-09-06
Store Date: 2013-09-06
Track List:
--------
01. Wavering Lines 3:54
02. Coming Through (Feat. Cat 3:55
Power)
03. Everything Unwinds 3:30
04. Burning Bridges 4:59
05. Disintegratings 4:35
06. Too Dry To Cry 4:39
07. What's The Deal? 4:40
08. Ain't Got No Love 5:20
09. White Noise 4:33
10. Hole In The Roof 3:39
11. Blue Escape 3:08
12. Nobody Knows 4:00
13. The Flow 6:04
Release Notes:
--------
The modern day soul world is a scary place, full of obscure Mercury Prize
nominees destined for the coffee table and those beige records that your auntie
sings along to when she hears them on Radio 2. You know the ones, found in
between that Police song about the red lights and that Katie Melua one about
bikes.
Willis Earl Beal has come to save us from this hell and take soul back where it
belongs. IÆm not sure where that is, IÆm not sure if he knows where it is, but
itÆs definitely somewhere a lot lot stranger.
Nobody Knows, the Chicago chapÆs second LP, builds upon the oddness of 2012Æs
debut Acousmatic Sorcery, turning down the quirkiness from an unhealthy 11 to a
listenable six. It would be wrong to call the album a complete departure, but it
is a much more conventional record. Well perhaps conventional is the wrong word,
I donÆt think Mr Beal understands the concept of convention. Shiny, thatÆs a
better word. Nobody Knows is a much more shiny record.
æComing ThroughÆ demonstrates this perfectly. Gone are the lo-fi buzzes and in
are the pop hooks and Cat Power-style backing vocals. The track is the closest
Mr Beal will probably ever come to the mainstream, what with all of its jingly
guitars and catchy choruses, but I canÆt see him breaking through into MTV land
any time soon. Which doesnÆt matter, heÆs too good to be mixing it with those
suckers on the hit parade anyway.
But thatÆs not to say heÆs gone soft on us. æWhatÆs the DealÆ sounds like a
recording of a man furious that his Dungeon Keeper save has been corrupted on
his Windows 95 PC. Those systems really couldnÆt hack those little red pixels
could they? The track drones along dysfunctionally whilst Beal howls that
signature howl of his. ItÆs all very apocalyptic. But whatÆs wrong with that?
Apocalyptic soul is pretty much an untapped market, which is what musicÆs all
about right? Untapped markets and songs for adverts.
Unfortunately æWhite NoiseÆ isnÆt a cover of the Disclosure groove off of the
radio, but rather a haunting acoustic love song straight from the pits of Earl
BealÆs soul. Imagine how good a Willis Earl Beal cover would be though. ItÆd
certainly stomp all over that trad-rock reworking those Peace jokers came up
with. Brit pop strikes back is gonna be a lot less entertaining than that second
Star Wars film, whatever that was called.
ThereÆs something wonderfully sad about the combination of strings and WillisÆ
voice. æBlue EscapeÆ weeps into your heart, swooping and swooning like nobodyÆs
business. Like many of the tracks on Nobody Knows it really captures the
intensity of his live shows and makes a strong case for him to be the writer of
the next American national anthem. Not that the USA are actually looking for a
new national anthemà But I they were, Beal would probably write quite a good
one.
With Nobody Knows Willis Earl Beal has rescued soul from the depths of the X
Factor's Motown week. Anyone who can do that probably does deserve to rewrite a
national anthem. Get on the phone Obama. Willis will be waiting.