A&M Records, released 13/07/2009.

BBC new artist polls don’t really include quality controls.  The idea is this:  “let’s pick 15 acts that we think will be big this year”.  Big, not necessarily good.  Sometimes both, but let Mika and Adele press home the point.  I don’t quite get it.  Surely there must be some marketing website where they could talk about this kind of thing and leave the rest of us alone.

While we shouldn’t blame an artist for the things other people say about them, one of said list’s members rather suggests he believes it’s his right to be banged on about.  Dan Black is not the first to talk himself up but such an emphasis should be backed up by something more substantial, more deep, than this.

It feels less like an album than a CV.  His fondness for samples and electro squiggles seems to speak of someone looking for an angle, a way into an over-crowded market, and while it produces some touching moments when given space to breath (“U+Me”, “Cocoon”), the rest is market-driven stuff of differing effectiveness.  The upbeat and catchy singles, “Yours” and “Alone”, will stick in your head but the latter’s opening bass riff feels like it’s trying so hard it could be desperately trying to pick someone up at a party.  Other efforts are frequently derailed by Black’s lyrics (what he may deem to be clever rhyming lyricism is instead often gibberish) or his voice itself.  It sounds like Akon turned into a chipmunk and then transposed back to audibility, like a film title translated into Japanese and back again.

I'm sorry Dan, but if it's not one thing it's another.  I'll sing along to "Alone" when no-one's looking, but that will suffice.

Posted In Album Reviews, Jul 14 2009. Words - Martin