Album Review: Blackat - "Moonlight Glimpse"

Jeez, these blog things are like plants: pay them no attention and they whither and die. Here's an album I reviewed a while back and really liked. In retrospect, I would have bumped up the rating a little bit, as I've been listening to the album off and on over the past couple of months. Plus it's Texas-made, which is alright in my book any day of the week. Got a few more coming soon, promise. Enjoi.

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Blackat

Moonlight Glimpse - LP

Reviewer: Reed Burnam

Blackat’s newest record Moonlight Glimpse (2011, Dub Commission Records) has a lot of things going for it. Hailing from Arlington, Texas, the guy formerly known as DJ Black brings a smorgasbord of aural oddities to the fore herein. And not to use oddities in any sort of derogatory sense. In a field of music (dubstep/electronic-a) that when mentioned these days more often than not elicits squeals of “Oh yeah, dubstep – I love Skrillex!”, Blackat’s down-South stew of experimental, avant, and expressionist electro tracks manages to tread a lot of ground, and more than that offers the promise of more to come. Moonlight Glimpse is 54 minutes of sonic beat experimentation operating under the guise of an electronic record. Though the album suffers here and there from some tracks that atrophy down into an event horizon of repetitiveness, not-quite achieving their full potential, there’s quite a bit on this record that has a lot of promise, and often times the cyclical, differentiated, and thoroughly non-streamlined approach makes for a chunk of sound that is more than the sum of its parts. Add to the fact that Moonlight Glimpse is pulsing out of your speakers straight out of the great state of Texas, and you gotta respect, plain and simple.

Tracks here are things-unto-themselves while still seeming to form a cohesive whole at the end of a straight-through listen. Perhaps the most noteworthy element of the album at large is its experimental feel throughout, as it refuses to bow down to easy rhythms and straight-forward progressions. Drums aren’t afraid to stray into off-beat, staccato patterns that are offset by deep, trance-laden melodicisms and an effective avant-aesthetic that is peppered with cinematic overtures, brooding dark/ambient passages, and occasional effects worthy of late night sci-fi theater. The diversity that colors most of Moonlight Glimpse is one of its stronger suits, and paints the picture of an album that is trying to avoid being boxed in and categorized. That being said, one of the downsides is that despite this penchant for experimentation, some tracks fall a bit short of what could be a higher-order experience, instead creating a mood that is effective for the first half of the track and then kind of drags its way through the second half. Not quite stagnation, as that word sounds way too harsh for what is at core a pretty good record, but here and there a little more chaos/order/chaos might really add to this mix.

As for individual tracks herein, here’s a quick overview. Album opener “Flashlight” sets the pace, a nice off-kilter drum pattern replete with a sparse, moody string-section background interspersed with a range of sometimes jarring effects. The vox get a bit worn-out by about mid-song (see above). “Alanna” continues, with a creepy-crawly violin/cello sample repeated over what sounds like a back alley orchestra in Blade Runner or something. Good tension in this one, everything hangs together well. “Bring” is an album stand-out, and calls to mind visions of a dark/ambient/experimental/electro cavalry march across the surface of a ruined planet – very cinematic. Good stuff. Can’t say as much for “Time Well Spent”, in which the samples start to grate after the first thirty seconds; the track is way better when they drop out around 1:20 or so and should have explored the space rather than fill it up with a few annoying samples. “Gavin’s Emotions” is another album favorite, moody and cerebral with a breakdown that’s one part overdone and one part perfect, especially when the whole landscape comes back into view at around 2:20. “Little Birdy” is hardwired and futuristic, with a looped bird call that brings to mind Dan Deacon’s Woody Woodpecker sample off Spiderman of the Rings; “Burden” is more downtempo, with what could pass for a techno-jazz-bass line sparse and low in the back. Nice.

By “Reflection”, the album is picking up pace a little bit. “Em Low” is bombastic at points, with a cool bass line and plenty of space around the edges, and bleeds well into “Fuck It”, a psychedelic, trip-the-light-fantastic rave cut that (almost) induces the perma-tracers out of hiding, and is another album stand-out here for the sheer exuberance of it. And for the finale, the guest appearances come out – Bassick’s “Run That Track” locks, loads, and unleashes the dubstep drop that’s been brewing up the whole album, and induces the head-nodding immediately. Dragonman’s “Devil” is another track with a lot of club appeal, deep bass, and a skittering on-point rhythm pattern flowing over looped movie sampling. And to end things out, Adan Lee’s “Zero Gravity” is an excursion into the wee hours of the AM, dropping in and out of an electro-lullaby into chasms of bass and kick.

In all, there’s a lot of promise on Moonlight Glimpse, and it’s hoped that Blackat maintains the sense of experimentation-rather-than-conformity that is all over this album. With a little tweaking and an eye to the tracks as cohesive units in-themselves, the output should be a great listen. Coming soon to a party near you.

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

Reviewer: Reed Burnam