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Blackfield - Blackfield review



Reviewer:
8.3

139 users:
8.31
Band: Blackfield
Album: Blackfield
Release date: January 2004


Disc I
01. Open Mind
02. Blackfield
03. Glow
04. Scars
05. Lullaby
06. Pain
07. Summer
08. Cloudy Now
09. The Hole In Me
10. Hello

Disc II [International Edition]
01. Perfect World
02. Where Is My Love?
03. Cloudy Now [live]
+ Blackfield [video]

Outstanding musicians always find ways to interest listeners in different genres. Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree once again manages to bring a different flavour to the table with a pure pop rock project called Blackfield. A full collaborative work with Israeli singer-songwriter Aviv Geffen, this album is an experiment in art rock, with short songs focused on atmospheres and precise melodies.

Porcupine Tree fans will undoubtedly recognize the touch of Steven Wilson through the expert finishing of each song, trademark singing and atmosphere building. The overall record is very smooth and relaxing but has the necessary amount of thrills to pick your interest. Some of the songs were originally written and sung in Hebrew by Aviv Geffen for his solo material but were used again on this album with English vocals instead ["Pain" and "Scars"].

Every track is clocking under the 04:15 mark, making Blackfield a rather quick succession of rock ballad melodies rather than a full-blown experimental fest usually promised by a Porcupine Tree album. Apart from that, the similarities with Wilson's customary work are all there including the Pink Floyd influences on songs such as "Hello" and "Perfect World". The emphasis throughout the album has been put on the piano and string instruments rather than the guitars rendering this record very serene. Nevertheless there is a beautiful synergetic force emanating from the songs that make this music compelling.

The video for the title track - which is included on the CD - is one of the best music videos I have seen in years so it is a nice bonus. The artwork is also worth your money. It is actually more disturbing than most Black Metal album artworks. As far as production goes it is all home-made magic by Steven Wilson.

Far from the overwhelming rock sound of the moment, Blackfield is trading in peaceful radio-friendly pop rock tunes with Wilson as lead singer. The product is a ten song treasure chest to which three bonus tracks, which were later added on. This is the perfect record for chilling out during summer evenings when the mood is calling for relaxation.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 10





Written on 25.04.2011 by Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as:

"A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?"

I have only got so much patience and skills, you do the math.


Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 63 users
26.04.2011 - 15:37
Rating: 8
Milena
gloom cookie
Sounds like something for me.
----
7.0 means the album is good
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