Blemish [Digipak] - David Sylvian

...music.

Blemish is nothing like the neo-classical Secrets Of The Beehive, nothing like the ambient rock of Dead Bees On A Cake, nothing like the proto-world music of Words With The Shaman.

Blemish was written and recorded very quickly, as Sylvian was in the throes of a very painful separation from his wife and children, and predominantly features just Sylvian himself on all manner of electronica, which buzzes and fizzes ...
...try".

Blemish is a hard album to listen to, and is not recommended to anyone slightly depressed or down - this album will not lift your spirits. But if you are feeling strong and robust then there is much to admire here. The naked honesty of the vocals can make the listener uneasy - as though we are prying into matters which don't concern us. But the lyrics are darkly humorous at times. The tunes, such as they are, reveal themselves ... more

David Sylvian, the velvet voiced ex singer with Japan, and a solo artist since the early eighties is most well known for his often lush, romantic music.

Blemish is nothing like the neo-classical Secrets Of The Beehive, nothing like the ambient rock of Dead Bees On A Cake, nothing like the proto-world music of Words With The Shaman.

Blemish was written and recorded very quickly, as Sylvian was in the throes of a very painful separation from his wife and children, and predominantly features just Sylvian himself on all manner of electronica, which buzzes and fizzes most disagreably. Shards of angular guitar crop up courtesy of jazzer Derek Bailey but these are even more atonal than the electronics.

The opening title track is a hard to listen to reflection on his break up, lasting 13 minutes! If you can survive this, then the rest of the album is a breeze in comparison. "The Only Daughter" features disorienting effects which sound as if the cd is skipping, but it's not - the same effects appeared in concert where DS played the whole album from start to finish, (plus a few other unrecorded tracks which were even more lyrically personal).

For me the album improves as it goes along, as some grim humour creeps into "Late Night Shopping" and the whole sorry affair concludes with the light at the end of the tunnel that is "A Fire In The Forest" which is the closest we get to the lyrical poetic Sylvian of old. Hope is offered in the final lyrics "Yes, I will try".

Blemish is a hard album to listen to, and is not recommended to anyone slightly depressed or down - this album will not lift your spirits. But if you are feeling strong and robust then there is much to admire here. The naked honesty of the vocals can make the listener uneasy - as though we are prying into matters which don't concern us. But the lyrics are darkly humorous at times. The tunes, such as they are, reveal themselves after quite a few listens, but the overtly electronic backing can also be a little off putting.

So, an album not for the faint of heart, and certainly not a good place to start if you want to begin exploring Sylvian's work. Try Brilliant Trees or Dead Bees On A Cake for easier, less disturbing music. 

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