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Track Listings
| 1. Cimple |
| 2. The Move |
| 3. Dos + Don’ts (W/ Gruff Rhys) |
| 4. Girl Toy |
| 5. Dumb Day |
| 6. Eyelashings |
| 7. Soft + Open |
| 8. One Eye Round The Warm Corner |
| 9. Aplomb |
| 10. The Matter (W/ Nina Nastasia) |
Product Description
Customer Reviews
Having had his latest LP, Blue Eyed In The Red Room, on heavy repeat I can univocally say the guy definitely can stand up on his own without the need to have a heavyweight MC backing him up. But then this is not a hip-hop album and nor is it a sample heavy work of the ilk RJD2 or DJ Shadow have made their own. Rather it's a lovely collection of downbeat instrumentals that are so swoon-worthy that they could rock a rabid dog to sleep. It is beautiful dope music but not woozy, in fact even from the first track Cimple it has crystal clear keyboards playing a simple ditty whilst a hypnotic loop runs in the background. Do's & Don'ts picks up the pace as well as providing the first of two great vocal contributions with the distinctive Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals continuously chanting over an almost Egyptian sounding musical collage. The pace of the music actually changes half way through, almost turning the song into two distinct pieces of music. Girl Toy really does amply demonstrates that Boom Bip does not need superstars to make beautiful songs and this is a luscious piece of wimsy starting ever so delicately and then slowly building in layers until you're gently floating along with it. Dumb Day makes interesting use of snare drums whilst Eyelashings starts of with an aggressive baseline before launching itself in the clouds again with beautiful tinkly pianos. This minimalist theme continues with Soft and Open and One Eye Round The Warm Corner is the least electronica sounding song on the whole album; just an acoustic guitar and a few strings. Lovely. The Matter closes the album with dreamy vocals from Nina Nastasia who sounds kind of like Hope Sandoval. A simple lulling drone is conjured by Boom Bip and allows Nina to gently croon "I don't believe in the power of love, I don't believe in the wisdom of stars" to a fitting and beautiful conclusion. Essential.
However, if you can spare a couple of extra pounds, do get the version with the bonus 3" CD with 'Red Room', a 13 minute bonus track. It is a rawer, more pulsating instrumental, one that shares many sounds with post-rock bands Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You Black Emperor. It really is a bonus CD worthy of the extra cash, so to anyone interested in this album, surf on over to the other listing for it and grab a nice extra while you're at it!
I was already a huge fan of another Boom Bip effort "Seed to Sun". Then, when I first heard "Blue Eyed in the Red Room", I was quite disappointed. It didn't seem bad, just mediocre. However, since I know that occasionally I am wrong about a CD on the first listen, I gave this one another chance. Boy, am I glad I did. It is now one of my favorite CDs, and it just keeps growing in stature.
If you've come to this from Boom's other CDs, give it more than one listen - it is very different from his other stuff, and I think at least equally great. It gets under your skin when you least pay attention to it, in an ambient sort of way. I love the way the songs develop. Someone claims it takes Boom too long to develop the melodic line, but I disagree. I think the trick is not to listen to it up front, but more like an ambient record (think Eno)... at which point the development is just about perfectly paced.
Highly recommended.
My reviews aren't that good, but this album deserved another 5 so it is getting one.
Many of the tracks, "Cimple", "Girl Toy", "Dumb Day", and "One eye around the warm corner" consist of bizarrely simple melodies and chord progressions that result in melodious washes of sound rather than individual structured songs. The standout tracks include "The Move", "The Dos and the Don'ts" and "The Matter (of our discussion)"
"The Move" is simply one of the catchiest electronic instrumental tracks ever released and will probably make it's way into several chill-out compilations. But what stands out in this track is the bridge which is made up of layers of repetitive guitar lines (almost in the vein of Steve Reich) that build and build until the original theme again emerges. "The Dos and the Don'ts" is a sparse, epic track featuring Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals. The final track features the voice of Nina Nastasia floating over a layer of guitars and autoharps that are as drifting and unstructured as the song's lyrics.
In conclusion, buy this cd! Buy it new! Support this artist.
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