In theory, it will (or should?) be their last release, as Chris Stein is no longer touring with the band due to health reasons and Clem Burke died two years ago. This leaves Debbie Harry as the only original member of the band......and who is 81 (!!!!).
After their first 6-7 albums (though some would say 5, Blondie's output became........spotty. And I might be dressing that up, as I was such a huge fan of the band.
Through my friend Jon, I'd be kept apprised of the possibility of a new disk, but with Burke's death, everything was questionable.
As it turns out, Burke had recorded all his parts before his death. I mean, it's hard to do it post-mortem. Though with AI, who the fuck knows.
It sounds like High Noon has been completed for a while, so it sounds like logistics was behind the album's delay.
The other day, I told Jon about the release of the album, but he seemed to already know about it. And I got his review of their new song "Spectral Eyes" from him as well: "the first single is terrible".
Well......crap................yet not unexpected. I'm going by their last few disks, though their last, Pollinator, was stronger than the 2-3 before it.
Still, I got home and logged onto YouTube to listen to "Spectral Eyes".
I don't know I'd go as far as to say "terrible", but it's also not their strongest work. It's not even their writing. Johnny Marr (the Smiths, Electronic, Modest Mouse) wrote the track. Generally, I like Marr. I thought perhaps it would be a good combo with Harry and what was left of the band.
Immediately, I thought it could be a forgotten track off of the band's 1999 album, No Exit.
Burke was a great drummer, not that you'd know it here. The mix has them so far in the background it could be anyone.
I think I get why. I love Harry, but her voice sounds like it's sung through a megaphone and muted at the same time. I don't even think it's autotuned as much as it is just very nasal sounding. For Burke to truly drum, he'd drown her out. I can't say I can pick out the lyrics all that well.
Marr does an ok job writing the song and playing the lead guitar.
At this stage in their career and life, I'm not expecting peak performance, but it'd be nicer if they were better.
NOTE: Listen to the song. Do NOT watch the video.........especially if you have Epilepsy. It's a 'visualizer' video and not like an art one. Strobe lights or not, there is no reason to view the visual portion. It's annoying AF.
2 comments:
Waste of Marr
Oh and her voice — she just can’t hit the notes without going through her nose, which is something she used to be able to do so beautifully. Still — 80 fuckin 1!
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