The Hunter [CASSETTE] [Single, Maxi]

Kele Okereke's 2010 solo debut 'The Boxer' found this fine singer and talented
songwriter outside of his Bloc Party comfort zone, stretching his wings and
flying forth into the listening world both proud and alone. I found much to
admire in it and the album still gets The Wolfcave's ever-present dust blown
away from time to time to give it a chance to stretch and breathe again.

This release, "maxi-single"/EP (call it what you will), comprises seven new
songs which tilt him just a few degrees further towards the mainstream.
This is a good thing. Despite (actually perhaps because of) the dance-
friendly nature of some of the material we experience him moving in a
more confidently focussed direction. The melodies are strong, the beats
are big and Mr Okereke's voice has never sounded better. His falsetto seems
to have developed considerably since his last outing and the lower tones have
also gained in both richness and tonal colour. It is a fine instrument.

Things get off to a storming start with 'What Did I Do' (with a cracking
vocal performance from his guest Lucy Taylor) and with the exception of
the more mid-paced melancholy composition 'Cable's Goodbye' and the crackling
high-voiced anthemic abstractions of 'Love As A Weapon' (sounding not a
million miles away from David McAlmont's splendid early work) the mood is
decidedly up-beat. Mr Okereke seems in a of mind to party hard and we are
carried aloft with him on a wave of energetic optimism. Final track 'You
Belong To Someone Else', in particular, shuffles along on a glorious wave
of African-flavoured rhythm, flute, acordian, ribald percussion and sprightly
female backing-vocals. The intermittent bouncing synth instrusions are a hoot!
It's all sea and sunshine and irrepressible joie de vivre. The trancey beats
and soaring chorus of 'Devotion' is another truly uplifting highlight in the
set and would doubtless fill dancefloors the length and breadth of the land.
'Goodbye Horses' (*), too, is an eighties-tinged four-to-the-floor stormer
which invites us to put our hands in the air and bounce along with abandon.

If 'The Hunter' is a taste of things to come we can be sure that Mr Okereke has
truly found his feet and more than deserves a prominent place in the spotlight!

Highly Recommended.

16/1/12 (*) Whilst watching 'The Silence Of The Lambs' for the umpteenth time
a couple of evenings ago (the film is a firm favorite in the Wolf household,
although we are confused and amused by the notion of one human eating another;
our own species would rarely, if ever, consider something quite so outre!) I was
surprised to discover that 'Goodbye Horses' was employed in the soundtrack to
accompany the narcissistic gyrations of Mr Gumb (aka serial killer Buffalo Bill)
in a particularly disturbing scene in Mr Demme's splendid adaptation of Mr Harris's
novel. The song was originally written by William Garvey and performed by one
Q Lazzarus in 1988. Mr Okereke's somewhat more sprightly version is, however,
remarkably faithful to its progenitor in both pace and texture. Perhaps Mr O is a fan
of the movie too. Bloc Party may have cause to be nervous should they reassemble!

To clarify, I am not going to go into the whole discussion of 'who's better Bloc Party or Kele' or the sensationalism that has recently trailed the band. This is purely about Kele Okereke having gone it alone as a solo musician.

In the wake of 2010's debut 'The Boxer', Mr Okereke has returned with a slightly more condensed although far from lacking EP of sorts. What you get for your money is seven magnificent tracks, about loss, betrayal, love and heartache, all shimmering and writhing under glossy electronic beats, spear-headed with Kele's melodious vocal outpourings.

'The Hunter' is more of an evolution, building and developing upon the foundation laid by the debut. While the previous effort was more of a creeper in the way that I did not immediately feel affection toward each track, however on this new effort the songs are far more accessible and instantly likeable. For me personally, Kele has always had a very expressionistic way of capturing his voice to reflect his disposition and emotional feelings. He seems far more content on this second cd, and more like he has grown to fit his own skin. The tracks exude a confidence, and stand as a bold, glaring v-sign toward the conventional and contrived contemporary dross being manufactured and repackaged as indie and indeed as good music these days.

There isn't a single weak track on this EP. There's one or possibly two songs that you may slightly neglect to connect with upon first listen, but once the hooks get under your skin they become impossible to shift. A bass wobble hear, a backing vocal or pan pipe there, may be overlooked, but rediscovered then later on. It really is a treasure chest of a cd, where not everything is on show on the surface the first time, but dig a little deeper and the real riches and wealth are buried beneath the outer layers. A track-by-track breakdown of the ep:

1) What did I do? (Ft. Lucy Taylor) - 1st single released by Kele from 'The Hunter', and a definite dancefloor igniter of a track. Replete with dubstep wobble beat, admittedly it's mainly Lucy Taylor singing with Kele providing backing vocals to the chorus, it is one to be played loud through a good bass system for good measure.

2) Release Me - Is a very summery affair. Again continuing the signature electro beats that we have come to expect of Kele under his solo moniker. It is like Vampire Week-End on acid, having a chin wag with Aphex Twin.

3) Devotion - Opens very ominously. An 80's vibe chases this song, it's like an extramartial relationship between OMD and Depeche Mode. Kele's refrain of 'It's you that I think of, and it's you that I crave' mirroring the themes of love and dsitance used in various 80's songs of the previously mentioned groups and many of their peers. It's bold, it's beautifully produced, and resonates immediately with the soul. A winner for sure.

4) Goodbye Horses - By now a pattern should be emerging. Another warm, cuddly, embrace from a brilliant thumping beat, underpinned by Kele's beautifully versatile croon. Props to the Human League for this one. It grabs and refuses to let go. A definite crowd please, the audio equivalent of a fire-work party being let off in the canals of your ears, it's the erupting of light and sparklers drawing patterns in the dark that are the key visual image in this one.

5) Cable's Goodbye - The introduction, is a hybrid of piano and synthesizer, with a pounding drum beat layered on top. It grows and builds to an immense sounding chorus coupled with a poignant message, the pipes again adding a delicate yet hauting fragility to the overall texture of the song.

6) Love As A Weapon - Breaks in with a flurry of bass pedal, that sounds like machine gun fire. But is deceptive as the overall tempo of the song is slow, and again builds in tempo to a cresendo. More and more waves of sound are added as the song progresses. Kele sounds fragile and vulnerable with the high toned sounding vocals that he contributes to this track. It is very calming on the mind after a hard day.

7) You Belong To Somone Else - Has the African soul displayed on track 2 'Release Me'. Certain parts break up the track that are reminiscient of Major Lazer, with a very extroverted and in-your-face approach to the structure of the synthesized beats. It has a massive dance element coursing through it. But is something of a paradox as besides the sorrowful sounding title, it sound very happy and chirpy. Definetly deserves to take up a place as a dancefloor filler and get the recognition that it deserves for sure.

In a nutshell Kele, has has become more efficient and better overall at identifying what his fans have come to expect of him. And this is his gift to us. For evidence of his genius I advise you to listen to my personal favourite from the EP track three's 'Devotion' will tattoo itself to your brain for sure, and will only be able to be physically removed by sugery for definite. On an end note, there's no real point to keep on instructing and heckling the poor guy to go back to Bloc Party. He's happy doing what he's doing, and I tell you what he is doing is something unique and original, an auditory breath of fresh air. On this release he has really come into his own, so come on now stop feeling so bitter about your beloved Bloc Party they'll be back eventually, when they need to come back, but for now, buckle up your dancing shoes, and allow youself to be immersed and mesmerised by a truly brilliant musical listening experience, that will have your body involuntarily convulsing and grinding to the beats on display here, like no other cd released this year.

As front man of electro/indy band Bloc Party, I always felt Kele wanted to break free from the constraints of a four or five piece and unleash the trance that appears to be bursting from his every vein. After listening to this EP you actually get the feeling you've sat through a whole album(value for money I mean!)'What did I do?' featuring the vocal talents of Lucy Taylor was an uplifting dubstep summer tune only on the play list of Sky's music channels.
Real shame it was never considered for radio. This EP seems to be the ideal direction for Kele which even has his own interpretation of Q-Lazarus's hit 'Goodbye Horses' where he incorperates pounding synthesizers and speedy BPMs. If you like Bloc Party, you'll love this major step-up from a very versatile artist.