Blackfield is an art-rock collaboration between Steven Wilson (No-Man, Porcupine Tree) and the politically engaged Israeli bard Aviv Geffen.
After the previous, rather uneven album “Welcome To My DNA”, the band returns with their fourth studio album entitled “Blackfield IV”.
Blackfield’s music is characterized by a unique, melancholic, emotional style. Short pieces, written to a large extent in the minor key, are characterized by incredible melodiousness, supplemented in the background by a string section. The lyrics revolve around social and love problems. In the expression of Wilson and Geffen’s singing, one senses, the issues raised are often related to personal experiences.
For the first time in their career, the duo invited vocalists such as Jonathan Donahue (Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips), Vincent Cavanagh (Anathema) and Brett Anderson (Suede) to collaborate on a new album. This unexpected step was probably taken in connection with Steven Wilson’s involvement in solo projects. In one of the interviews, Wilson admitted that it cannot be ruled out that in the future Blackfield will become a brand that will be largely dealt with by Aviv.
“Blackfield IV” is a collection of eleven songs written in the pop rock convention. A trained ear will probably pick up inspirations from indie rock and even electronics.
The album opens with “Pills” with Wilson’s enigmatic voice singing “There’s a pill for every hour”. At the end of the song, you can hear a mellotron standing out from behind. Further typical Blackfield songs include “Sense of Insanity”, “Springtime”, “Faking” and “Jupiter”, for which an excellent video was shot. “Firefly” is a track in which Brett Anderson lent his voice, but his distinctive voice does not fit into the composed music. This is a path that Aviv Geffen’s vocals would fit better. Vincent Cvanagh and Jonathan Donahue were completely different. “XRay”, in which you can hear the voice of the first of the above-mentioned ones, is one of the most beautiful songs on the entire album. However, listening to the melancholic “The Only Fool Is Me” for the first time, you can get the impression that you can hear Steven Wilson singing with a rather experimentally modulated voice. However, there is nothing more wrong, because here Donahue is on the vocals. The closing track, quite different from the rest of the “After The Rain” is clearly inspired by dubstep.
“Blackfield IV” is a good, classic Blackfield, which at certain moments, however, can surprise the listener. There are many beautiful musical moments that will surely be remembered for a long time not only by a loyal fan of the band.