Blackfield
IV

The arrival of a new work by Blackfield is usually not met with much fanfare, essentially being a side-project with a dry and simple sound that never stirs up much curiosity. But perhaps there was a bit more curiosity in the listeners' minds before the release of this work. Certainly, because when Steven Wilson announced that his hand would be less present in this fourth chapter, everyone wondered what Aviv Geffen would do using much more flour from his own sack.

Indeed, Wilson sings lead in only two tracks ("Pills" and "Jupiter") and as backing vocals in one ("Sense of Insanity"), and plays some guitar parts while dedicating the rest of the work to mixing. His solo career is increasingly the main interest of the English genius, to the point of temporarily shelving even his main and better-known project, the Porcupine Tree, which is hoped to return one day. It is also worth mentioning the presence of three guest vocalists.

Speaking about the album, I can easily say... that this absence is not felt at all. We are faced with an album imbued with the melodic, direct, simple and sentimental rock that characterized the previous releases. Those who were disappointed by the album probably judged it without grasping what is the true essence of the Blackfield project: simplicity. Blackfield is a band that aims to play delicate and exciting rock without too many pretensions, and therefore listeners' expectations should never be too high. Indeed, Blackfield IS melodic rock in person! They manage to be very simple without losing refinement, without the arrangements ever becoming flat, something that often happens when aiming for easy listening (just consider the flood of bands that mainstream offers us, where it seems that the pieces are scribbled just to make them...).

Not even the truly limited duration of the album turned out to be an obstacle to quality. The album indeed lasts only a scant 32 minutes, and the 11 songs that comprise it never reach 4 minutes (sometimes not even 3, and on two occasions not even 2).

Tracks like "Springtime" and "Sense Of Insanity" offer an excellent mix between moderately lively rhythms and string arrangements. "Pills" and "Faking" instead are dominated by orchestral layers. In "X-Ray," the lead vocalist is Vincent Cavanagh from Anathema, and the result can only be convincing; he manages to give emotional depth to an extremely simple track.

A standout track is also "Lost Souls" with its lively and determined little guitar, yet always tinged with a sense of melancholy. "Firefly," with the decisive voice of Brett Anderson from Suede and its more sustained rhythm, spills into melodic indie-rock; with inserts like synths that are quite unusual for the project's style.

The most peculiar tracks are undoubtedly the very brief "After the Rain" with its unusual drum'n'bass and "The Only Fool Is Me," sung by Jonathan Donahue from Mercury Rev, with an almost medieval flavor.

The ones that captivate me a little less are "Jupiter" and "Kissed by the Devil," which nonetheless alternate well between more rocking riffs and more delicate and deep melodies.

In essence, we have an album that neither surprises nor disappoints; it simply confirms what Blackfield has managed to deliver in previous records, providing half an hour of touching and direct music without asking too much and satisfying both ears and heart with ease. To be appreciated simply for what it is!