Open Web Player
When Blake was on A.I., I was a huge fan. I loved the smoothness of his vocals and his beat-boxing skills were off the hook. I didn't want him to win (Doolittle is above and beyond the best thing that show has ever seen) but when it came down to the final two, let's just say I wanted Blake to walk away with it. He didn't, but his debut album trumps Sparks' for me and so I was really excited about him capitalizing on his style (that whole modern 80's R&B techno style) and just blow us away with his sophomore album.
Well, I'm blown away, but not in a good way.
This saddens me, because Blake really had everything going for him upon the release of his debut. It had its hiccups, but it had so much promise. I wanted him to really move himself forward with this release. Instead, he meanders in the same territory, offering nothing new to the table, and basically offers up a slew of B-side tracks with little spark. What really upsets me though is that Blake has basically completely forgotten about what set him apart in the first place. His beat-boxing liberties on the show that made him a star is what made him shine. He doesn't take those liberties with his own material.
Why isn't he beat-boxing? I mean, he does the occasional riff (don't even get a taste until track 5) but he really could have gone all out here.
The album opens poorly with `Heartbreak on Vinyl', a mediocre pop song that sounds too familiar, and the lyrical content is a huge letdown. It's just cheesy and very unimpressive. Even that isn't as bad as `Left My Baby for You', which is just cringe worthy and very hard on the ears. `Our Rapture of Love' is just boring and unflattering. I don't think there is anything `wrong' with `Afraid', but there isn't anything memorable about it either. It's feels barely there really.
And then we have `SuperScratchVocalisticTurntableLicious'. It is far from `licious. It is just, very unsatisfying.
The rest of the album is pretty much a slew of decent and satisfying yet forgettable tracks that remind me of why I like Blake but fail to move me the way his debut did. Songs like `Binary Love' and `Freak' are fun (two of the better tracks on the album) but they don't contain anything that makes me go "wow, I really LOVED that". `Sad Song' sounds JUST LIKE `How Many Words' or `Here's My Hello'...cut from the same mold, equally great yet surprisingly (this go around) it fails to excite me too much.
He channels his inner Sting on `Rebel Without a Cause', and succeeds. That one is actually one of the better tracks on the album.
The three closing tracks all contain elements of greatness (`The Point' has a nicely constructed low-key vibe, `The Remedy' has a fresh spunk to it and `Love or Torture' has a killer breakdown towards the end) but none of them really step up as far as they should. They all fall back into a feeling of repetitive laziness. Blake can do better than this, and he knows it, and we know it, so why isn't he really challenging himself?
So, the standout track, by far, is `Rhythm of My Heart'. It has a slick vibe, smooth vocals and...get this...beat-boxing. With Blake's subtle touches of vocal flourishes, he shows he has something to offer, I just wish that he would have used this same approach on the remainder of the album. This could have been great. The modern 80's take on the musical arrangements offer ample backdrop for Blake to pull out all the stops. Instead, he allows the music to come across as redundant and uneventful.
Maybe the third time will be the charm.
Top reviews from other countries
Teammensch
Schönes Album nur leider nicht OVP
Reviewed in Germany on April 26, 2013
