![]()
Neneh Cherry
Blank Project
[Smalltown Supersound]
Anyone with a grip on the cycles that popular music goes through could have predicted a Neneh Cherry revival. With 90s rave music and garage house hotter than ever after more than a decade in the trenches and the ‘second summer of love’ now a source of middle aged nostalgia, it was only a matter of time before trip-hop saw another gloomy, baked-out day in the sun.
Though Neneh Cherry’s first solo recording in 18 years is anything but a throwback. If anything, 'Blank Project' heralds a new sound for the Buffalo Stancer, and shows the audacity of an artist unwearied by age, success or family. Enlisting Kieran Hebden and Rocketnumbernine for production responsibilities is not only a safe move, given their critical laudability, it also pays off. At times a racket, the production still leaves room for Cherry’s vocal bravado and emotional honesty to punch through. Album opener “Across the Water,” for example, begins with backstage drums and voice alone. It’s a subtle hymn that reconciles her commitments to both family and community, and sets a tone of sincerity and individuality.
As the album progresses, Cherry’s unapologetic attitude takes on other personas, and the bituminous beats follow suit boldly. Digital drums ride up against recorded kits on “Naked,” in a magnetic solemn way that is typical of the album. “Cynical” has Cherry reiterate her intonations for justice through the gridlock of stop-start snares and low-frequency exhaust. “I’ve found my sound,” she exclaims: it’s a palette far from the one she helped Jonny Dollar popularise in the 1990s, but no less intriguing. Considering its mass appeal however, the record should be far more cherish-able to the underground than to a stadium audience.
‘422’ is poignant but hardly a chart topper like ‘7 Seconds’ was back in ‘96. Having performed at Live 8, there’s every chance that Cherry, undoubtedly an artist keenly dedicated to issues of social conscience, has her sights on more personal dilemmas (“the bullshit that gets up your nose” rather than “crooked corporate hacks”). It may be that the cynicism she denies does extend so far as to the ability of behemoth events to produce positive influence in international politics. Maybe she just doesn’t want to see her song performed by Dido again. Whatever way you look at it, this is entirely too intimate to be Geldof-able, but never too autobiographical to be distant.
Rather, amidst the rusted backing, Cherry’s lyrics are touching, heartfelt and specific. Title tune “Blank Project” for example, is another highlight. When her message is of marital remonstration, her accompaniment is, so appropriately, frenetic timpani rolls and feedback. “Spit Three Times” has enough of the stoned lilt of her archives to satisfy Portishead fans silly enough to think ‘Third’ not as legendary as their early work.
Marrying myopic house stabs with ringing, natural percussion in the recesses of an Amen break dressed in grunge clothes (yes, you read that right), “Weightless” is surely a stand out. It’s a dizzying musical composition which should earn Hebden and Rocketnumbernine well deserved accolades and would be riveting performed live. By contrast, “Out of the Black” which feature countrywoman Robyn is more evenly paced, though no less strikingly. Big rock drums team with a wash of synths, a beautifully tuned LFO and future-thinking arpeggios that excuse the prosaic measure of the beat marvelously. The tune crescendos sumptuously, a trait not unique on this album, which rewards repeated listens, but betrays something of the haste with which it was all recorded (apparently in just five days).
At other times, the soup of reverb-soaked rave and Cherry’s more energetic moments seem a bit rushed. “Dossier” has a maudlin plot, which is interrupted by white noise and booty references. The result is confusing and deserves a methodical remix. Closer “Everything” sees the guys behind the boards more liberated to attack the vocals, and Cherry more confident for it. When she rejoins the haunting organs with a cackle not unlike a kookaburra, the outcome is as uncanny as it is ethereal, like Pink Floyd playing live in a cathedral. In this gorgeous, fragile denouement we’re told “good things come to those who wait.” After so many years of relative silence, it’s fair to expect consensus.
“Blank Project” sounds wholly Neneh Cherry, which is a credit to the deft touch of Hebden and the Rocketnumbernine lads. That she’s been paired with scene-leading production skills her whole career can be no coincidence. Perhaps it speaks volumes of her vision; throughout her career picking producers on the crest of the zeitgest to help her achieve her vision. Perhaps it speaks of Hebden’s chutzpah in wrenching her out of the blissful family bivouac through the jazz wilderness that she appeared to have been on. Perhaps it’s simply artists connecting and letting their talents coalesce. Whatever the chemistry, what makes the album fantastic is that all involved have used the opportunity not to retread the formulas of former successes. Whether the internet was swooning in anticipation of something this inventive remains to be seen.
Listen to Pulse Radio
