As I’m sure you’re aware, electronic dance music is a pretty big deal right now. Even bands who wouldn’t normally branch out into this genre are now tentatively dipping their toes into electronic music just to keep up with the trends. But when there’s so much of this style of music available, it can be a chore to sift through it all. Unfortunately for Blaqk Audio, their new album ‘Bright Black Heaven’ just won’t stand out from the crowd.
The common trap for this kind of music is the lack of variety. There is only so much two guys and electronic beats can produce. While they are pretty good at making interesting arrangements, all the songs end up sounding the same. There’s a typical formula to almost every song on this album: a slow start, with very dramatic, slow-moving lyrics and vocals while the music builds and builds until breaking into a dance-y chorus that repeats many times.
After a while, everything just starts sounding the same, which is sad because there is a lot of potential to do a lot of cool things. The focus seemed to be on making catchy dance songs rather than songs that could stand on their own.
This isn’t to say that ‘Bright Black Heaven’ doesn’t have some bright spots. ‘Faith Healer’ has a bit of an edge to it. It starts out fairly unassuming before breaking into a very catchy, very dance-able chorus. This song is pure fun in music form. The same goes for ‘The Witness;’ it is just the right combination of vocals, synths, and beats that come together for a great dance song. ‘Ill-lit Ships’ breaks the mold of the album, employing simple piano that gives it a bit of a mainstream sound that works with their dark vocals on this track.
Blaqk Audio’s newest album ‘Bright Black Heaven isn’t a total disappointment. There are some solid tracks, and this is the perfect album for putting in the background at a party. But it’s too generic and doesn’t break the mould of electronic dance music. It’s all very expected, and it will be overlooked.
2/5
‘Bright Black Heaven’ by Blaqk Audio is released on September 11th through Big Death/Superball Music.
Blaqk Audio links: Official Website|Facebook|Twitter|Youtube
Words by Jenny Gagas (@Jenny_herself)
