Why are we talking about Beck v Beyoncé when we could be listening to something truly innovative – such as Dawn Richard’s Blackheart?After a week in which the biggest music story was an awards show proving itself, yet again, to be backwards and meaningless, you wouldn’t think that 2015 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years for new music in recent memory. Not that the artists responsible have a hope of getting anywhere near as close to a Grammy as Beyoncé , but Levon Vincent’s raw house, Rae Sremmurd’s youthful rap exuberance and Jazmine Sullivan’s smoky modern day blues are helpful reminders that it’s worth extending the conversation beyond the same five megastar names.The most ambitious and revelatory album of the year might be the lowest-profile, despite (or perhaps because of) its creator’s mainstream connections. Dawn Richard’s Blackheart is a wild ride through the kind of constantly shapeshifting electronics that make everyone else’s so-called “innovation” sound timid – and the emotional peaks and troughs give a sense of purpose to her experimentation. It starts with a piercing acapella cry – “I thought I lost it all” – and its twists and turns thereafter take in Greek mythology and feminist retellings of the Billie Jean groupie archetype, as Richard tells a tale of failure, loss and ultimate triumph. Continue reading...
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