Anyone looking for a post-Halloween treat?
I’ve always had a thing for Blake Lewis, be it his fanboy-like devotion to electronica, his open embrace of the gay community, or that cherry blossom tattoo on his forearm.
On October 6, Lewis unleashed his sophomore attempt, Heartbreak on Vinyl, released through Tommy Boy Records.
Like his previous effort, Heartbreak on Vinyl is an album of music about music-making, riddled with gadget-speak and geeky computer tech talk: “Sensory overload, define original, seductive frequency coming to me in stereo. It seems that you were made for me,” he sings off the bridge of “Binary Love” as computer blips and the sounds of dial-up modems pepper the speakers.
Heartbreak on Vinyl makes use of a variety of dancefloor sounds, including radio-ready ‘modern’ stompers (“Afraid”), harder hitting, dark grinders (“Freak”), slow burn torch ballads (“The Point”), and ’80’s-inspired grooves (“The Remedy”): “The sound could save our life if we follow the melody / When love is on the line, this is a remedy,” Lewis urges atop a flare of killer synths, surpassing any and all songs released under the name “Remedy” this year. Yes, Little Boots…I’m referring to you.
“Heartbreak on Vinyl,” the album’s title track, is also one of the strongest selections, bringing to mind the warbling delivery style of The Killers‘ Brandon Flowers. “I waited for you at the record shop, walked through the doors and the record stopped. Heartbreak on Vinyl was the name of the store, now the store is gone and we can’t meet there anymore,” Lewis coos atop a twinkling electronica undercurrent.
For anyone previously turned off by Blake Lewis’ well documented over-enthusiasm for his human beat-box skills, fear not: The focus of this album is on actual instruments, not Lewis’ turntable tongue work. That is, aside from the album’s interlude, “Superscratchavocalisticturnatablelicious,” which is apparently where Lewis chose to channel the energy of his oral acrobatics. Don’t like it? Skip over it, and you’re right back into the set of dancefloor gems.
Rest assured, Heartbreak isn’t ‘just another Idol album’ by any stretch of the imagination. It’s well-crafted, cohesive and seriously danceable; the obvious product of a sincere adoration for the medium. As an album, Lewis’ second effort works to unite both the tech nerd within me and the dancefloor enthusiast, bringing both elements together to provide a stellar set for dancing the night away.
To enter to win one of TEN copies of Blake Lewis’ new album, Heartbreak on Vinyl, send a blank e-mail to [email protected] by Friday, November 6. The first ten entries will win! This post will be updated once the contest has ended.
Contest is now closed…thank you to all the entrants!
Purchase Heartbreak on Vinyl on iTunes | MySpace | Official Website
