Following a three-year stint of features, remixes and orchestral work, Dev Hynes returns as Blood Orange with a fantastic four-track offering.
Like seeing an old friend, our reintroduction to Blood Orange is clumsy at first, before settling into familiarity. Jesus Freak Lighter, (I’m looking forward to interpreting the name in an epiphany), sees Hynes collide an abrasive ‘IGOR’S THEME’-esque synth with randomised drum lines and dreamy keys to create an almost warming whirlwind. The track’s mix is technically all over the place, and whether this is something Hynes pays mind to is up to him, but the varying panning and levels turn the track into a sensory experience. This aggressive rhythm section contrasts with the sweetly spacious vocals: “falling, got carried away, living in my head”. Most of the ‘Blood-Orange-isms’ from his earlier work are here: overlapping vocal lines, groovy drums, gorgeous harmony… it’s like he never left.
It’s Something You Know: both the sonic palette and the next song. The drums are so sloppy, you can almost see Dev slapping and smacking around his home studio in New York City. The jangly guitar arpeggios return here in a similarly loose feel; not one that reads as accidental, but instead practiced. Think of Questlove’s work on D’angelo’s Voodoo, or MF DOOM’s beat series as Metal Fingers. The sublime chord work on this track pairs perfectly with the relaxed drum work into a solid offering from Hynes, successful in its familiarity.
Track three is the kind of music I wish Hynes made more of: Wish. Driving kick drums echo the aggression of the first track, but with a soft filter across the drums, as if one is hearing the rhythms through a haze. Weightless keys fill out the soundscape and Hynes’ vocals float in with a sublime airiness. It’s as if he’s painting with blues and purples, creating a melancholic image of ‘wish(ing) it all went away’. What the song is about exactly is up to the listener, me in this case, and considering this EP arrived to me at a time of moving city and starting studies, I think of all the little challenges that come with change, another theme that pops up in the lyrics. Either this is one of Dev Hynes most emotionally moving songs as Blood Orange, or I’m ripe for melancholic juicing, and the unison piano and guitar line in the latter half squeezed it out of me.
"Hynes' vocals float in with a sublime airiness. It’s as if he’s painting with blues and purples, creating a melancholic image of ‘wish(ing) it all went away'."
The EP ends with a collaboration that reads as unstoppable, on paper. Erika de Casier is at the forefront of ‘20s Alternative R&B with a versatile voice perfect for the genre. Blood Orange equips the exact production I hoped he would, with a woody snare and “rat-a-tat” hats. The track loses me slightly with its recurring refrain, which at its core is simply not very catchy; a potentially shallow criticism, but valid nonetheless. The outro, however, swirls in typically evocative fashion, with an influx of soaring strings, layered vocals and an intoxicating repetition from de Casier: “I wanna, I wanna, I wanna go faster”.
Had I spent the last three years waiting for these Four Songs, maybe I’d find their shortcomings more significant or even disappointing, but as a relatively spritely and enthusiastic release from Blood Orange, it’s evoked many of the feelings that his previous work has, in a melancholy combo of groove and poetry. My Spotify settings include a crossfade and album loop, which lead to me listening to this EP five times on loop whilst packing for the new term. Whether it’s a technically sound project is one question, but if an albums goal is to attach to place and time and evoke these feelings on command, then mission accomplished.
Ewan Samms
Edited by: Ewan Samms
Cover image and in-article image courtesy of Blood Orange via instagram. In article video courtesy of Blood Orange via YouTube
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