Hozier - Hozier

From recording his first full-length album to performing live on SNL two weeks ago, Hozier has made a flying leap across the ocean, thus convincing the US audience to buy his songs. With soulful/bluesy vocals and lyrics inspired by the singer's some kind of pagan poetry, "Hozier" is a weird case of a crossover irish album you just don't expect it to work. But it works. And it works just fine.

His first single, "Take me to church", received much hype around the internet and Kiesza covered the song with her beautiful voice, but it wasn't until the singer appeared on the american television that changed everything. The album debuted at No 2 on Billboard 200 and Hozier became a star in half an hour.

Although he is an exceptional songwriter, some songs here are actually boring. But then again, that's not the case, because, as I wrote before, the album works just fine. Dark lyrics accompanied by guitars and gospel choirs, love stories and dramas, Hozier's countryside hometown, Wicklow Hills - all these are the materials of an album that could possibly give birth to a new music genre, the "Irish blues" or something (Kudos must also go to the producer, Rob Kirwan).

The best songs in here are loaded in the first half of the album ("Angel Of Small Death And The Codeine Scene", "From Eden", "Jackie And Wilson", "Sedated"), leaving the second half being responsible for the boredom factor. But the thing with Hozier is that even when you are bored, you can appreciate his musicianship and his ability to create his own vintage sound. That actually reminds me of Bon Iver, so applied mathematics (?) leads me to the conclusion that Hozier will win the Grammy Award in the Best New Artist category. Just guessing...

AnArtCalled... 8,5/10

El Buho - The First Heartbeat (Single)

El Buho (a musician and scriptwriter based in Athens) has listened to a lot of pop music as well as film scores in the past. So it's almost obvious that he is trying to combine his two favorite music genres into an ethereal piece of music - his single "The First Heartbeat". That could seem and sound weird as far as the continuity of the production is concerned, but on the other hand it feels like he knows what he is doing.

Many songwriters, producers and arrangers in the past have combined different styles of music in their work, from Air and Daft Punk to Craig Armstrong and Trent Reznor. Electronic pads and drums, concrete music, strings and orchestra ensembles, vocals and guitars - the tools can be countless. El Buho has wisely used here his mentors' flexibility in music creation and has produced an ambient track that showcases his ability to flirt with a good melody and his age of innocence, thus creating a landscape full of childhood memories in a shiny day. Well, that's my visual utopia listening to "The first heartbeat" and that's the actual thing here - listening to it, you can create your own images.

Minus: Too much reverb, which he actually likes and always uses. So, maybe, it is somekind of signature.

AnArtCalled... 8,5/10

Links:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/elbuho
http://open.spotify.com/track/3xjK31GMrnmlTYQhmDJKkD
https://itunes.apple.com/gr/album/the-first-heartbeat-single/id926016164
https://soundcloud.com/buhomusic 

FKA twigs - LP1

When I first saw the cover of this album, I thought the girl in it has some kind of issues with the "Avatar" film. Anyhow, it's not important. It's just the fact, though, that, while I was listening to her music for the first time, I thought FKA twigs is a weird girl. An almost mythical creature, a person that impersonates many roles through her videos and tries to be anything but normal. It was this exact point of view that I thought it could fade away, as I was trying to understand her musical goals. Maybe I have never been more wrong in my life as far as an artist is concerned. Because, in fact, in every word she sings, her uniqueness gets more and more confident and stronger. That much, that it's getting actually weirdly weird.

The first full-length album for FKA twigs is actually an electronic r'n'b masterpiece. It's like placing Beyonce in the studio with Weeknd, James Blake and Jessie Ware and yet, it's not enough to fully create a picture of her sound. She is fragile and strong at the same time and she is singing from a place that is certainly not her throat or her diaphragm. She sings from her heart and it's not a human heart; it's a divine heart, a heart full of power, sensuality, deep breaths and reverb. You can listen to it so clearly; her voice is recorded from another time and another place, not a studio in the UK.

Even though it was pretty smart to promote the album with the best track in it, "Two weeks", you cannot underestimate the other songs. "Video girl" and "Lights on" are tracks that Kelis, Solange or any other sophisticated r'n'b diva that respects herself could kill for. The production here is flawless. It is "britishly flawless", as I often write about a James Blake record. It's fresh, it stands on its own and most of the times it's dark. Just like a personal secret you really cannot tell to anyone, because someone will die!

FKA twigs, a former dancer in Jessie J videos (what the odds), has released an album that has so much potential in it, it is on the verge of already becoming an instant classic; great songs, great voice, great production, great artwork, great timing and critical reception. Not to mention, a beautiful and stylish woman.

AnArtCalled... 9,5/10