Located in: Opinions
Posted on: May 5th, 2014 No Comments

Albarn’s blurry solo effort ‘lackluster’


Damon Albarn was recently quoted in the Guardian as saying, “Pop’s gone back to showbiz. It’s like Dylan and the Beatles never happened.” If Albarn really sees this as a problem, this reviewer fails to see how his first ever solo album, Everyday Robots, is any kind of solution.

If the Beatles had ever made an album this lackluster, they’d have slinked back to Hamburg in shame. If Dylan had made an album this bad, well, he probably just would’ve made another Chrysler commercial.

The whole idea behind an album is that it is a group of varied, yet stylistically- or thematically-linked, songs that are meant to be played in a precise sequence. Sure, Albarn’s new LP shares its name with the lead track, “Everyday Robots.” Nevertheless, I can’t imagine a single casual music fan that has come to this record looking for enjoyment that would make the decision to proceed past this dreary opening track. Further down the track list, “Hollow Ponds” is just one verse of a not-especially-memorable David Bowie song, plodding along toward a chorus that never actually arrives.

Yes, this album has some interesting ideas and inventive production. Samples of poet and nightclub comic Lord Buckley, LSD devotee Timothy and the Leytonstone City Mission Choir all make their presence known on this record. Yet, there is not one song on this offering that is worthy of such baubles. “Mr Tembo,” an ode to a baby elephant Albarn met while touring a Tanzanian zoo, is water-logged world beat era Peter Gabriel. Only “You and Me” with guest vocals by Brian Eno comes close to fulfilling its mission as a pop song.

There is a quote usually attributed to Duke Ellington that breaks all music down into two categories: “good” and “the other kind.” Using Ellington’s rubric, I would give “Everyday Robots” an enthusiastic “other kind,” but the paradigm of the Criterion involves stars. So, I suppose I’ll give this Damon Albarn solo outing one star. After all, the album misused the talents of four different producers, more than a dozen credited professional musicians and four different recording studios (two in London and two in New York City). If nothing else, this album was a job creator.

To put “Everyday Robots” in historical perspective, ex-Police front man Sting has made solo albums that are more interesting. Yup, I said it. Sting.

★☆☆☆☆

jlrichardson@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

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