David Sylvian
Blemish

Ordering a record makes its purchase more solemn, especially if it's the latest work of one of your favorite artists.
"It's here!" the clerk told me yesterday over the phone. So, I got up early this morning and at 9:00 sharp I was in front of the store.

The cover immediately makes me smile, a drawing by Atsushi Fukui depicting David Sylvian dressed somewhat like an Armani model, I didn't get it!
I quickly go back home for the first listen.
I didn't expect a new record from David Sylvian, to be honest. I was convinced that after "Dead Bees on a Cake" and the anthology "Everything and Nothing" he didn't have much to say anymore, but I was completely wrong.

I would like to start cooking and listening, but I can't, the first track "Blemish" captivates me, I have to sit down. His always warm and enveloping voice almost recites a litany over hypnotic electronic distortions for 13 wonderful minutes. He sings about love, of course, his favorite theme.
It continues with the even more minimalistic "The Good Son" and "The Only Daughter," sparse and electric.
Perhaps by the penultimate track, one starts becoming a little unsettled by the distorted sounds and the imposing vocal presence, but Sylvian, masterfully, closes with the most melodic piece of the album, "A Fire In The Forest," the only one that might perhaps reconnect us to his previous work.

Research and experimentation, his great passions, are at their peak. There is little, very little space left for melody, but the result is exceptional.
Additionally important is the fact that perhaps for the first time there are no excellent collaborations, Sylvian is now a mature and confident man, then.

It will take time and many listens to delve into the intricacies of this minimalistic work and synthesis in black and white, but I wanted to share the first strong impression.