I gotta feeling (woo hoo) that the back half of 2009 is gonna be good one for electronic music. From the electro-washed singles from The Black Eyed Peas' latest to a revamped The Fame Monster from our Lady of perpetual Gaga and recent singles from Cascade and David Guetta making a dent at radio, this is the year the dancefloor takes over the world. And Blake Lewis's sophomore project on famed dance label Tommy Boy records is primed to add to the frenzy.
Heartbreak On Vinyl continues a fine trend on titling started by Kanye (808s & Heartbreaks) and continued by Brooke White (High Hopes & Heartbreaks) but it's the music that has me excited. The title track opens the disc with a bang, a distinctly '80s throwback ala Pet Shop Boys with a hot beat and keyboard tones. Following that is "Binary Love" a more futuristic robot pop song with a heavy electronic sound. Lead single "Sad Song" sounds a lot like Blake's previous album Audio Day Dream, one of the few songs that have that distinction. This is more grown-up techno, featuring more risque lyrics and more club-ready beats that that prior American Idol-sanctioned release.
From the S&M themed "Love Or Torture (Please Don't Stop)" to the ode to dirty dancing "Freak" this is the Blake that fans knew was hiding behind the 19 Entertainment white wash. And it's not just the lyrics that have matured, the sound is very hip-hop meets techno with a little of the beatboxing that earned him his Idol fanbase. But not all is nasty freaky dancefloor getdowns, "The Point" is a beautifully chilled out ballad with acoustic guitars and a male choir that intermingles with the electronic sounds. And I really enjoyed way Blake incorporates musical talk into a lot of the lyrics. For a muso like me, it's really cool.
If you enjoy fresh techno sounds, this is the second best album of the year.
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