James Blake one of those voices has one that melts one while inducing violent fantasies in the other. Nevertheless, his fifth studio album is not called “Friends That Break Your Nose”, no, the probably eternally boyish culprit of the ambitious Something-with-RnB indies continues to devote himself to broken hearts. The one broken by friends this time. Accordingly, the album is called “Friends That Break Your Heart”. Anyone who has friends like this no longer needs party friends.
The song of the same name sounds a bit as if Billie Eilish had overwritten her pubescent mood swings on the sensitive James, so that she can play the diva in peace. An acoustic guitar breaks a few minor chords. The synthesizer warms your feet like an artificial fireplace. A few strings and Woodwinds ensemble from the can in between. The insights are very deep. Because it’s all not fair. And you are never prepared for this heartbreak. At the end of the album, Blake even drives to the very big cathedral.
He can just say “If I’m loved unconditionally, how’s this condition so unique?” ask, then the organ starts already, cloned background Jameses flank it falsetting like baby-fat putti vying for the title “angel of the month”, “but when you’re with me” … and so on. Maybe you should just stay alone. And at home. Working together to prevent misfortune as efficiently as Covid-19 mRNA vaccines. Blake has retained his transparently yet powerfully produced sound, which ranges from hip-hop beats to Celine Dion for hipsters. Some call it post-dubstep, even if nobody has understood what it is until today. Instead, you could just say that James Blake sounds distinctive. Love it or break his heart.
Aaron Maine aka Porches one knows at the latest from David Dean Burkhart’s music video for “Underwater”, a surrealistic, wobbling masterpiece based on the 1968 film “The Swimmer”. “All Day Gentle Hold!”, The new album by Porches, was much more bizarre compared to “Underwater”. It’s more guitar-heavy. On the other hand, Maine works a lot with vocal effects and produces the songs in a dry, artificial way, almost a bit plastic, to a mixture of classic songwriting, cranky DIY tinkering and post-internet art.
Scene from David Dean Burkhart’s “Underwater”.
(Photo: Screenshot: Youtube)
Unfortunately, he is one of the countless artists who have never been told that the Cosmic Supreme Court of the Arts imposed a ten-year ban on the use of autotune eons ago. Therefore, Maine will unfortunately have to go through purgatory one day, but mitigating circumstances may be found. For example, how charmingly he repeats short text phrases. Sometimes just a word. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Yes, that’s it, this down-to-earth singer-songwriter music, contaminated to the last cell by the jittery fusion aesthetics of the internet. Like brightly colored plastic toys in the healthiest garden soil. Get melodies to sing along (and repeat words). And what sometimes sounds like autotune is maybe just the approving yodel of the James Blake putti in heaven.
On Reddit, someone recently asked which rock stars who have had soaring careers are actually not immersed in drugs and scandals. Among the answers were found Pearl Jam and They Might Be Giants. Matt Maltese could follow them on the way to a relaxed pop star existence. The album by the 23-year-old Italian-Canadian artist from south London, “Good Morning It’s Now Tomorrow”, definitely exudes the necessary serenity. He will be with the Beatles and Aldous Harding and you can understand where it comes from, but Maltese pop, though younger, is a thousand times more sedate than anything the Beatles ever did. Maybe this has to do with the fact that he became known through a Tiktok hit. On the other hand, Tierra Whack’s one-minute song “Whack World” was also made famous by Tiktok, and that’s fantastic. Where is Tierra Whack actually gone? Maybe she could help Maltese destroy his life. It would be a good deed.