Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Blood Orange - "Negro Swan"

Blood Orange is the Funk and Alternative R&B project of Dev Hynes.  Dev started this project up in the early 2010's, and made a splash with his 2011 debut "Coastal Grooves".  And honestly, this isn't a terrible album.  It brings to light a lot of the very groovy, bass-heavy Funk that Dev has gotten big with.  But at the same time, a lot of people did sort of bash this album for being a little on the Low-Fi side.  And yes, the production is sloppy as hell, and a lot of the time I feel like Dev is trying to find his footing a little too much.  But tracks like "Complete Failure" and "Can We Go Inside Now" have this undeniable sense of cool to them that Dev would eventually master.  Dev returned in 2013 with "Cupid Deluxe", and finally started to get some steam going.  This was a much classier and much more streamlined album, with Dev really getting into some pretty funky stuff.  There were plenty of slick Bass licks and a big 80's sound, and most importantly Dev was writing catchier material.  While his debut was a crammed slop of an album filled with Dev trying so hard to bring tons of genres together, "Cupid Deluxe" seemed to be his sound.  But I still wasn't too nuts about this album.  Dev more often than not just sounded like he was covering these sounds instead of actually writing new material.  Not to mention, I wanted to hear Dev's personality come through more.  But Dev returned in 2016 with "Freetown Sound", an album that showed him capturing his sound and nailing it.  This was one of my favorite albums of the year by far of any genre, Dev just seemed to be coming off so natural throughout all of it.  Tracks like "Augustine" and "Best To You" were some of the funkiest and most enjoyable R&B tunes of the year, and tracks like "E.V.P." and "Better Than Me" made for stunning deep cuts.  And sure, some of the interlude tracks were a little preachy, but for the most part, I was able to completely look past that. This album is fantastic.  So Dev is back under the Blood Orange name, and honestly, these singles have been OK.  Nothing too crazy, but certainly not bad.  Let's chat friends.

This album starts off with “Orlando”, and instantly this album is going in a very different direction than it’s predecessor  There are a lot of the same elements tinkering about, like the ever-present funk and the soul influence.  But let’s be real this is a much more sorrowful sound coming from Dev, and honestly I actually really love that.  He already had oodles of personality, but this is brand new for him and I don’t mind it at all. It’s smooth and all, but like I said, it totally has a tarnished sound to it compared to the last album.  Overall, I’m totally into this as an intro.  And while I still think this album get’s a little preachy in parts, for here, I don’t mind it.  Now, say what you will about this album, but if you dig it or you don’t, you have to admit this is a much more elaborate album.  Dev may have really branched out with his last album.  But with this, he takes things to the next level with tons of nostalgic samples and a ton of instrumentals.  And so far, he’s knocking it the fuck out of the park.  With this one, we once again have a real focus on Funk and Alternative R*B.  But once again, there’s a real grittiness to this.  And yea, I’m down with it so far.  It’s not as instantaneous as the material Dev provided with “Freetown sound, but this is still just fine.  On the other hand, I actually feel like some tracks here should come off a little stronger, like “Take Your Time”.  Here, we get a very close up and personal performance from Dev.  Much more than usual too, since this is basically a stripped down with little to no instrumental.  But I do think it’s maybe just a little too barren.  But when other instrumentals do pop in, like these very jazzy woodwinds, I feel like Dev is just so much more on point.  And his vocals have only gotten better and better with time.  I just feel like I wish this went even more down the line with making an elaborate instrumental.  But it is still really steamy, so I end up having mixed feelings.   Then we have “Hope” featuring Puff Daddy and TeiShi.  And right off the bat, I have to give Dev credit, because this hook is catchy as hell.  And some of these samples he’s working with are genuinely solid.  But this beat and the production here are just so flimsy.  It’s a smooth track and all, and TeiShi’s vocals up against the very delicate pianos are actually stunning.  But Puff Daddy sounds just as uninspired as usual, and this track just ends up being OK.
Now, some of the voiceovers that transition one track to the next has been a little bit of a downfall for me in the past, that’s nothing new.  But with tracks like “Jewelry”, Dev at least back them up with some flashy instrumentals.  I love the sweeping synths and just how warm this one is.  It’s actually pretty jaw-dropping between all of that and just how strong Dev’s vocals come off.  I’m still waiting for some of the Electro-Funk of the last album to show up.  But if this is the direction Dev is going in, I can’t completely hate this.  It’s smooth, silky, and once again nocturnal.  But as much as I do enjoy this track, I stand by my words, this is much less instantaneous.  But if Dev is really intent on going for this much more elegant vibe, I’m all for it.  Then we have “Family” which is a decent interlude, with out of the better narrations here.  But just feel like it’s alright, this could have easily been tied on to another track here.  But for my money, I do really love the sort of Rock vibe to “Charcoal Baby”.  It’s still Dev’s usual blend of Funk and Soul, but why do I feel like this is an instrumental that Mac DeMarco would have fit on wonderfully.  It actually really works wonderfully for Dev though and ends up being one of the more memorable moments here.  The synths are warm, the instrumental gets pretty minimal at times, it’s all gravy. But even outside of that, Dev sounds on top of his game like I can’t begin to describe.  It’s not what I’ve come to expect from Dev, but it’s different in the best way.  But why does this album have so many interludes?  We get another one next with “Vulture Baby”, and it’s not terrible, it’s actually likable and jazzy.  But I just wish some of these ideas were fleshed out more because I do like the dreary tone. 
On the other hand, “Chewing Gum” is much grimier and Hip-Hop oriented than anything.  And yes, that’s only made bigger by the samples.  Dev actually sounds alright with his soothing vocals over these beats.  It’s also one of the more throwback sounding tracks here, which has always been a mainstay of his work.  But man, Rock just sounds out of place here in every way.  His lyrics, flow, and that acoustic strumming is just not doing anything at all.  I feel like this one would have been a great Blood Orange Solo track, but what happened to Dev’s ability to choose memorable guest singers. Then we get “Holy Will”.  Dev really is dishing out some of his most experimental tracks yet.  But this one has a really big ace up its sleeve with Ian Isiah’s absolutely flooring performance.  Between that and the very sparse atmosphere, this is practically a Gospel track.  Even though I would have liked some more input from Dev, this is still jaw-dropping.  Then we have “Dagenham Dream”, which brings in a big bulky beat and some throwback synths.  But overall, what the hell happened to the production here?  The production on so many tunes on “Freetown Sound” was so pristine.  But here, everything seems so muddled.  Which I honestly feel like was done as an effect to give this album a very “used” feel to it.  But here, it doesn’t come off nearly as classy as I would hope.  This album, in general, is much less average than I hoped.  On the other hand, “Nappy Wonder” doesn’t sound nearly as terrible for another stripped down track.  But that’s mostly because I actually think this is one of Dev’s most solid performances of the bunch.  But why is the production still so tinny?  This track could have been absolutely stunning.  And I do think this is one of the better tracks here though, but it could have been more powerful.  But I do really love the zany keyboard and guitars that give this one a seriously off the rails feel. 
On the other hand, “Runnin” is really, REALLY classy.  Like the acoustic strumming here could have easily been very cheesy. But it actually ends up ushering in one of Dev’s most interesting performances here.  He just has this essence to him here that’s just so cool, so sleek and dangerous in parts.  And honestly, it’s what I loved so much about “Freetown Sound”.  It’s just so moody, but it also progresses his sound so well, it’s wonderful.  Then we have “Out of Your League” featuring Steve Lacy.  And seriously Dev?  Where the hell was this sound all album?  I love the throwback synths here that are just so strong that I feel like makeup for their absence on most of this album.  Their track is fantastic.  The hooks are catchy, the beat is perfect, and the funk is seriously strong.  And with Steve Lacy on deck, this one goes to the next level entirely.  It’s easily one of the most memorable tracks of the bunch.  But man, I don’t see the point in yet another 2-minute interlude as we get with “Minetta Creek”.  I just feel like some of these have really great ideas.  But because so many come our way on the album, I just feel like it makes Dev come off unorganized.  This is by far one of the most repetitive tracks of the bunch.  I like the airy vibe and all, but nothing else about this one captures me, at all.  But with “Smoke” we see Dev end off the album with some Rock vibes and acoustic strumming, and it’s great.  Not to mention he throws in some audience sound effects which don’t come off cheesy.  This is an awesome ending tune, one that really doesn’t wrap up anything, but summarized Dev’s ideas so he can continue to use them in the future.  With this, I’m not scared of any futuristic experimentation Dev wants to check out. 

Rating: 7.8/10

Give A Listen To: “Orlando”,  “Out Of Your League”, “Charcoal Baby”, “Runnin”

Least Favorite Track: “Dagenham Dream”

Genre: Alternative R&B / Bedroom Pop / Funk / Soul

Overall Thoughts:  If “Freetown Sound” defined Blood Orange’s sound, “Negro Swan” really takes a deep look at the inner feelings of Dev Hynes.  Gone is the pristine Funk and Soul that graced us a few years ago, and in it’s place is a dreary and often depressive blend of Psychedelic Pop and R&B.  It’s not exactly what I expected to hear, but it’s a great sign of just how willing to experiment Dev is at this point in his career.  A warning though, these are a handful of tracks that need to be sat with.  There isn’t a single track on here that isn’t as instantaneous as some of the material on “Freetown Sound”.  But it’s still a very emotional, dreary, and rather elegant look into the mind of Dev Hynes. 

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