It comes as no surprise that the latest outing by Deborah Harry is a sonic assault on the listener - having been a fan of both DH and Blondie since 1975 (small kid back then!), I've grown up to realise that DH never releases an immediately accessible album when it comes to solo work. Her single releases are always radio friendly but act as no clue to the main work of the album.
The latest is the most complex and diverse collection of songs so far in her solo catalogue. However, all is not lost - give it time and you will find that the album starts to make sense and ..... even sounds cohesive if you can manage to leave your finger off the skip button on second listen!
Forget the classic 80's pop of the opener "Two Times Blue" the all familiar "Blondie" pop sound starts and finishes here - it's a great track and deserves its rightful place as the first act, however, it all goes true DH thereafter with an amazing range of musical styles fusing together as you travel an intelligent sonic soundscape which crosses all genres, it abuses your ears;('School for Scandal', 'Necessary Evil') has you relaxing;('If I Had You', 'What is Love', 'Needless to Say') makes you feel uncomfortable;('You're Too Hot', 'Charm Redux'), makes you want to dance; ('Deep End', 'Whiteout' and the fantastic experimental tribal funk of 'Jen Jen') and then back to chilling with the lyrically ironic 'Paradise'.
This is not a pop, punk, rock or alt album - it's a 100% Deborah Harry album and it's well worth the time and effort, musics leading lady never fails to challenge her own boundaries and styles and in so doing, brings the listener a truly unique experience unmatched by any of the competition, past, future and present!
Welcome back Deborah Harry - it's been too long.
Main reasons to buy: Jen Jen, Deep End, Whiteout & Needless to Say - 100% Fantastic
Summary: Buy, Perservere and most of all, Enjoy!