Brightblack Morning Light
Brightblack Morning Light

I think that judging, especially making hasty judgments, is conceptually wrong. Over time, I've realized how such practice is nestled in the bud within each of us, even more so in those who are certain they are not infected by it. One tries to combat it, but as soon as the judicial-immune defenses lower, the symptoms manifest in fits of bile towards the judged object. With a bit of calm, one can understand how everyone judges; the important thing is to contextualize such judgment, avoiding any sort of absolutism, transforming it into an opinion, making it malleable and susceptible to "on-the-fly" changes.

With music, it's easy to make incontrovertible judgments, as the criteria for judgment is primarily personal, and the scope of analysis is limited, compared to a sociological analysis, just to give an example. Well, this album by Brightblack Morning Light, a duo stationed in the new mecca of hippie-ness, Santa Cruz, perfectly represents a record on which it is easy to make a hasty judgment, whether positive or negative.

At first listens, I thought they were making fun of me: reviewed excellently almost everywhere, American webzines and Italian magazines, I expected something enlightening. Nothing instead. Actually, too much, to tell the truth. 52 minutes of identical rhythms, between sluggish narcolepsy, mellifluous voices with one intonation, a rhodes piano, a guitar, and at most a joint in the middle of the conifer forests. Stuff that if you play it in the car, after the first two tracks (I challenge you to find rhythmic differences with a distracted listen), you're at risk of going on standby and waking up in intensive care at the hospital.

Yet over time, and after carefully selecting the right moments to listen, I discovered the innate relaxing capabilities of this record. Its almost ambient static nature makes it perfect to send even the angriest among you to bed with a silly grin.

On close attention, they may bore, but they are a panacea after a stressful workday.