Though the latest batch of Indie Rock groups that have turned to unsavory, backporch waves of expression as a reflexive escape from the enormous moshpit that has all but enveloped the genre formerly known as alternative rock - is as omnipresent with charlatans as any clique, Blake Ian appears to be the real thing. With his roots firmly planted in Dylan-esque lyricism and exceptional command of trad-folk source material, Blake Ian doesn’t just unplug, he sidesteps the last several decades, tapping into a vivid sound that calls back to the troubadors of a former century.
When he’s in sunday morning mode, he sounds angelic, as on the hymn-like “Oh Life”. That internal struggle between God and Devil, love and loss has been crucial to folk music from Robert Johnson to Johnny Cash, and it’s clear that Blake Ian sees his soul as paramount tug of war material. He is one of the few artists left, concerned with sincerity and poetic virtue, rather than squandering his talents on watered down classic rock impressions. Blake Ian’s latest achievement- “ALCHEMIST”, has no shortage of well crafted tunes (“Fade”, “Being There”) and intriguing lyrics, all wrapped up with the panache of skilled and mature song composition. Ian may not be reaching for the heavens yet, and I’ve heard his next record is closer to his masterpiece, his music lifts him right off the ground.
You either love Blake Ian’s wounded singer-songwriter shtick, or you hate it. There’s no two ways about it. But like predecessor Eddie Vedder, most people don’t realize that the guy is actually a comedian masquerading as a gloom doom hipster. It’s debatable as to whether or not most of Vedder’s self-mocking humor was intentional, but after seeing Blake Ian perform, I became convinced that the guy is totally honest and fully aware of how genuine his songs are. It’s this kernel of knowledge that allows me to interpret songs like “Poison” as a bitterly complex black comic mini-movie, something director Paul Thomas Anderson would throw in a film. Truth be told, “Poison” is not that different from Guns N Roses’ “I used to love her but I had to kill her,” except Ian implies he won’t actually off the girl, and he will move on without remorse. Just another day in the life of this acoustic guitar strummin, swingin from the end of a rope master of the bitterly funny couplet. (A)
0 comments:
Post a Comment