Dev Hynes’ repertoire has taken us from noise punk with Test Icicles (a band apparently ahead of it’s time) and Lightspeed Champion; a self confessed experimental project where Hynes can combine catchy folk tunes with lyrics that go from terrible hangovers to playing The Legend of Zelda.
After spending last year wallowing in self pity due to some unfortunate critical bashing (Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You was for me, one of the best records of 2010), producing Diane Vickers new album, hanging out with Solange Knowles and Jay-Z, Hynes has still found time to release his debut album under new banner Blood Orange; which after two years of sporadic demos has finally seen full releases of several old favourites and new songs.
So right off the bat, we need to make this clear; Blood Orange is nothing like Lightspeed Champion and Test Icicles. Instead of releasing an album under the Lightspeed Champion banner and claiming to go “all Kid A” on us with such a radical departure of sound, it allows Lightspeed to continue without the prospect of losing tens upon tens of fans.
For die-hard fans of Blood Orange who have been there since 2009, ripping songs and waiting patiently for full releases (i.e. me), the album consists of ten tracks, five of which were demoed previously and five tracks never heard before. The album's (and Blood Orange in general's) sound can be described as everyone else is describing it; 70’s r’n’b meets eastern pop and rock.
Although the tracks still have the gritty garageband sound to them, they sound more fuller and complete. Opener Forget It’s guitar riffs sound more fierce and set the scene for a rock album but sound like a strange addition by the album’s end. Sutphin Boulevard has a catchy chorus but plays it safe. It’s an obvious single on a record but serves it's purpose as a taster for better things.
Stand out track I’m Sorry, We Lied is fast and shows off a delicious blend of eastern influence with California surf pop. Keeping the lyrical theme of the album with girls who should no better; Hynes’ laments on a protagonist who goes by the rules of someone who offers excitement in the form of late night shenanigans whilst knowing that ultimately, it’s wrong.
Old favourite S’Cooled returns in a shorter incarnation of it’s demo. It trims the excess but retains all the goodness; the groovy bassline, handclaps, bells and pleasant guitar all work together well. The album ends either with Champagne Coast; a strange choice of finish which has layers of vocals, low piano chords (similar to Are You Sure You're Really Busy? but more on that later) and a decent sing-a-long chorus, which doesn't explode but instead fades out.
If you bought the iTunes edition, you get bonus track Said No which would have made an ideal opening track for the album as it covers all bases but finds itself relegated at the end where, despite being better than Champagne Coast, it lacks the punch the album bitterly builds up to.
Then of course, there's the brand spanking new songs which, to be honest, seem kinda left-field when compared to the two years of preludes. Can We Go Inside Now could have made it as a Arctic Monkeys/The Last Shadow Puppets filler track with similarities to sixties baroque pop numbers with modern lyrics which stick out like a sore thumb. Complete Failure is by far the album's darkest track with a steady chord progression and harmonic vocals, again stepping a decade back from the older tracks; decent but unfortunately not particularly memorable.
Instantly Blank (The Goodness) includes female back-up vocals and a steady bass but again, feels like a filler. It's thankfully short but doesn't really do anything worthwhile. The Complete Knock is the album's longest track and is easily the best of the newbies. Incorporating electronic soundscapes with a nice synthy bridge, it constantly changes and evolves but retains the nice bass at the start and the guitar introduced for the chorus.
Are You Sure You're Really Busy? is the final track of the newbies and would have made a better closer. It starts off slow but builds and builds, then, almost poetically, it brings back the guitar solos from Forget It like at the beginning of the album before ending on a piano chord that ends the brewing chaos on the simplest of terms.
It's strange as Coastal Grooves could have been the album of the summer. It's music evokes imagery of the sun kissed landscape of California with palm trees and holywood smiles but the lyrics reveal part strange, part provoking tales of girls (or most likely transvestites/transexuals judging from Hynes' himself) who are caught in a dark underbelly of society where love is brutal and lies are the new currency.
Some will argue that the album is an underrated classic that's far too out there for the mainstream and some will argue it that it's simply background music for hipsters with no real substance but to be fair, there is a good record here that just lacked the finishing touches to make it great.
It peaks too early, nearly loses momentum in the middle, makes a steady recovery but dissipates into a calm and semi-satisfying climax when after the initial smiles and warm feelings, you deep down wanted it to encapsulate those thrilling first twenty minutes at the start but deep down know it can never be.
...
heh heh, dangly parts.
7/10
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