Dan Black's had an interesting musical history. As the lead singer of The Servant from '98 to '07, Black embraced a musical style similar to Placebo shoved into a blender with New Radicals and served up with a paper umbrella. With Planet Funk, his distinctive vocals provided melody and drama to fantastically-executed dance production. But on his own, it is interesting to find that despite an array of different sounds and moods, Black pretty much still sounds exactly the same.
The main thing to remember is that Dan Black has gotten most of his solo recognition because of Rihanna. His current chart climber "Symphonies" and its predecessor "HYPNTZ" sample the percussion from "Umbrella." "HYPNTZ" used the lyrics from Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotized" in the rhythm of the lyrics of "Symphonies," but had to be changed due to legal issues. The majority of the people being introduced to Black via "Symphonies" don't have a whole lot of an idea of what Black can and cannot do yet. While UN is Black's debut solo album, it also provides the clearest picture of this artist right now and showcases the best and worst of his talent. Start with "Symphonies" - its melodic, sweeping instrumentation is comforting and engaging to listen to, and intelligently punctuated by familiar but not overwhelming percussion. Floating along this current is Black himself, letting cute rhymes and vocal rhythms issue from his mouth with the greatest of ease. It seems, based on this track, that rhyming is one of Black's strengths because he makes the entire track work. Even if he hasn't said one word between his rhyming choices, his flow and timing allows him to pull it off. If that's not enough, the video for "Symphonies" is wonderful and creative, sampling a ton of cliched movie credit styles through time and incorporating the song's lyrics into it. Overall, he's done a great job creating an incredibly marketable single and defining a style for himself that feels separate and embraceable. It's a winning combination that should, theoretically, continue to work each time.
Only it doesn't. While "Ecstacy" definitely follows many of the standards set, it manages to remain engaging and separate. However, "Karate Kid," pulling up the end of the US Deluxe version of
UN, also carries many similarities to "Symphonies." The tempo is roughly the same, the track is melancholy and contains strings (guitar and cello vs. violins), and Black's type of lyrical writing, timing, and flow is continued here. And it is disastrous. "Karate Kid" is painful and tedious where "Symphonies" is an experience that seems to end too soon. Even the version of "Symphonies" featuring Kid Cudi lacks the charm of the original (perhaps why the original was released to US radio).
More Than A One Trick Pony
Luckily Black has more talent to credit than that. "Symphonies," compared to the rest of UN, is counted among the worst of the album's tracks. And as the opening track, it's pretty much all uphill from there. On its heels is "U + Me =," possibly Black's most entertaining song to date. Heavy and deep synths accompany stuttering violins and a syncopated beat. Black's voice soars over with uplifting and hopeful lyrics about overcoming obstacles within a relationship. "Alone" starts with a driving and combative bass guitar and insistent beat that begs for your attention. It bounces along and makes me feel like I've just met eyes with an old friend for the first time in years.
"Cocoon" slows things down for a ruminative and internal guitar ballad supported with some earthy percussion and minute waggles of electronica. The track wraps you like its name, and it is so comfortable, especially with the sentiment Black emotes, "You are my cocoon." He picks the energy back up with "Yours," a bleacher-pop track that exudes levels of fun previously unreached on
UN. Most of the album really does aim for an emotional tug so songs like "Yours" and the funk-pop of "Pump My Pumps" stand out for that reason. And despite the fast beat, "Wonder" definitely falls in with the emotional crowd. Black has a fantastic way of manipulating the listener into grooving to painful subjects, almost like he doesn't want you to pay attention to the lyrics until they hit you. It definitely seems that way on the incredibly personal "Cigarette Pack," which ambles along like a desolate man gazing at his shoes with his hands in his pockets. And the wind keeps knocking his hat off. The lyrical content of "Life Slash Dreams," however, is extremely strong when he sings the words:
"Life is life
Dreams are dreams
And I'm floating
Somewhere inbetween"
When dealing with an artist like Black, who does have a diverse musical background and apparently a lot to say, it is good to remember that each track is an opportunity to hear something relatively new.
"I Love Life" is vastly different from most of
UN, laying tribal drums
and chunky synths on like layers of full-fat ranch dressing and Black
takes the opportunity to take a break, relaxing his vocals and
delivering most of the lines in a processed talking voice. It's a
good departure, and makes "Just Let Go" sound only sweeter by
comparison. It couldn't be a better contrast from plastic to organic.
"Just Let Go" is a beautiful piece of music and truly showcases
Black's brilliance and his ability to be utterly heartbreaking.
"Glaciers slide through the dark
I mantracize your name
I let go"
"Symphonies" with Kid Cudi begins the bonus content of the album, and
while I'd be fine with it ending on "Just Let Go," we get to endure an
additional rapping verse that throws off the groove of the original.
"Poet" begins like a coffeehouse jam and feels like the type of track
the hipster kids would really groove on without really knowing why.
It is a curiously engaging track but doesn't match the quality of most
of UN, feeling like exactly what it is - an addition. The
aforementioned "Karate Kid" disastrously pulls up the rear of the
album, leaving a bad taste in my mouth and making me find something
better to try and convince myself is really the end of the album.
Summary
Dan Black's debut is a welcome addition to any music lover's
collection and with a bevy of tracks with a sing-along quality, this
could be the perfect addition to any road trip you take this summer.
Just skip by the bad parts.
Released February 2010 on The Hours.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the record label. For more information, please see our
Ethics Policy.
