Blood Orange — Negro Swan ANALYSIS & REVIEW
Published 08/31/2018
This album certainly had success in what it set out to do, and although there was more room for improving the interest level in the aspects that were less focused on structurally, the selling point was well received and the experience was rather nice. The timbre served as the album’s main element of attraction, nuance, and thoughtful experimentation. Truth be told, a lot of it was gorgeous.
There was an excellent use of electric guitar throughout as a soft-spoken, chill, groove-driving feature that provided the ample harmonic color with grace and flair. To be able to get this much precision in delivery and atmospheric setting from a guitar, bass, and drums instrumentation was quite remarkable. On top of that, when secondary layers were added, like the flutes in “Take Your Time”, the piano in “Vulture Baby”, or the small synthesizer decorations throughout, it was very tasteful and fitting, bringing small attention to itself due to the timbral difference yet completely keeping the mood in tact with simply furthering the existing harmonic progression or giving a gentle melody to space that needed one.
My only main critique for the sound is that, despite achieving a strong chill mood, it did become just a bit stale and unable to capture magic by the end, since instrumentation and instrumental tactics were largely the same throughout, and there wasn’t enough pure envelopment of beauty for a consistent amount of time to uphold it. Still, the sound was certainly pleasant, giving the music its true weight, and was rightfully the most focused upon element of the experience.
For this album to reach solidity in my book, the main element it needed to improve upon was melodic organization. Linear movement didn’t amount to being a huge factor at all, since the focus was constantly on the sonic atmosphere at every particular moment. However, melody still served as being smooth ear candy and the glue to hold phrase identity together, which I thought could’ve been better on both fronts. Sure, melody was indeed smooth, but perhaps too smooth, as important shape in rises and falls was largely missing, and lines simply ran together a bit too much as thoughts in the moment rather than calculated, constructed ingredients. It was actually at its best when pitch was absent and where rap sections with strong attention to rhythm took over. Perhaps that was a strength that wasn’t maximized fully here.
I understand the fear of taking anything away from the main goal of finding a consistent mood, but it sacrificed too much opportunity for melodic charm, for which there was certainly room. This made the music nothing terribly memorable, which was a bit of a shame. However, the melodies were ultimately just another tasteful decoration added to the structure, and while its role could have been much more impactful, it still fit in well with what the music was accomplishing first and foremost.
Perhaps the most crucial piece of the pie was also the most hidden, being the harmonic color itself. Not that it blew me off my feet in any way, but in general the harmonic language used here was quite exquisite and added an important secondary dimension that was pitch related to the atmosphere. Too often have I heard similar works that put timbre at the forefront fall very flat in chordal construction and progression, ultimately dooming the music to nothing all that interesting. That’s not the case here. While I still thought that harmonic and melodic roles could have simply been bigger and more meaningful throughout, the actual decisions regarding chord color and small amounts of direction were quite pleasing.
While hidden underneath the dealings of the instruments themselves, the harmony was secretly wonderfully cared for with great jazz influence by use of congenial 7ths, surprising shifts, and dancing around a tonal center a nice indirect way. My two favorite songs on the album, “Hope” and “Charcoal Baby”, exemplify this the best. If only the overall harmony was a little more concise, directive, and influential in the rest of the song structure, then we may be talking about true solidity as well. I think the harmonic layer brings this album from being a nice attempt to an actual success. Lots of smooth sameness, a couple of strong enjoyable songs, and a worthy listen for those wanting a modern chill atmosphere, though not too much more.
