Artist : Blueneck
Album : King Nine
Year : 2014
Genre : Indie
Quality : 235kbps / 44.1KHz / Joint Stereo
Source : CD
Playtime : 0h 53m
Size : 95.05mb
Label : Denovali
Catalognr : DEN212
Tracklist:
01. Counting Out 5:47
02. Sirens 6:24
03. King Nine 5:24
04. Man Of Lies 4:22
05. Broken Fingers 5:47
06. Father, Sister 4:05
07. Spiderlegs 6:38
08. Mutatis 9:06
09. Anything Other Than Breathing 6:17
Releasenotes:
Album to album, the sound of Blueneck is hard to predict: instrumental, buried
vocal, clear vocal, mix. But the melancholic mix of piano and guitars is
constant, as is the level of quality. The new work pushes the band further into
the crossover realm, and for the first time includes a lyric sheet. The
post-rock roots are still there, but a wider array of potential markets is
opened.
Snatches of phrases are apparent in the opening track, coming through like
transmissions in a storm: "harm myself," "one last breath", "counting out." But
when the storm breaks, the words become clear, sung in a near-falsetto over
spacious piano. We're approaching Coldplay territory here, but Blueneck is far
too clever for that, and its words possess a far darker tone. In fact, these
dispatches can be downright depressive; King Nine is humid, rainy day music,
filled with doubts, failures, recriminations and farewells. But the most
distinctive couplet arrives on the title track: "You were slightly wrong, but
it's not your fault." Hearing this line, one recalls the repetition of the line
in the film "Good Will Hunting" - a pivotal moment for the protagonist.
A Closer Listen is primarily an instrumental site, but there are three reasons
this album is being reviewed here. The first is Blueneck's instrumental
pedigree. The second is that Dustin Attwood's voice is so distinctive and
appealing. And the third is that the instrumental base remains strong. It's
interesting to note that the teaser video below is instrumental, although it
comes from a vocal track ("Man of Lies").
While the new album "pushes Attwood to the fore", it still contains stunning
stretches of vocal-free beauty. The first arrives in the closing 2:10 of lead
single "Sirens", which has been circulating for nearly a year in anticipation of
the album. A wall of wailing guitars is joined by crushing bass and soaring
strings, producing a sense of adrenalized drama. Most of the other tracks end
with 60 to 90 seconds of instrumentation, reversing the normal pop formula, in
which brief instrumentals lead to repeated choruses. The obvious highlight is
the 9-minute "Mutatis", which builds to the album's largest, horn-filled
crescendo. We'd love to hear an all-instrumental version of the piece. The
album then closes with three pensive instrumental minutes, including light
glockenspiel. Apparently, this band can have it both ways. Will they break
through to the mainstream, or remain in the shadow of post-rock? We're not
sure, and that's what makes the question so exciting.
Richard Allen - acloserlisten.com
http://blueneckuk.bandcamp.com