The new album from Mourning [A] BLKstar is an extraordinary experience. This is the rarest sort of record: one which demands your full attention as a listener. And one which demands some sort of engagement. To that end, anything approaching an impartial review of The Cycle, out on Friday via Don Giovanni Records, would be silly. There's no way to be impartial about a release like this.
The album educates on the experience of being African-American in America in 2020, with tracks here spanning a range of emotions. "Something JD Said", for instance, is ominous, while "Sense of an Ending" is more lyrical. These bass-heavy numbers, along with others like "The Wants", make a listener think of recent releases from Algiers. But where that band strives to maintain a higher pitch, the players in Mourning [A] BLKstar are more intent on producing music with more subtle twists and turns, and broader sweeps of emotion.
"Devil Get Behind Me" and "Been Around" marry faintly jazz-like hooks with electronic textures that give the songs, like many here, an unearthly power. "Whom the Bell Tolls" skirts closer to rap, but lots of The Cycle is more rooted in ambient forms, or fusion-y ones. The musicians of this group -- James Longs (vocals), Kyle Kidd (vocals), LaToya Kent (vocals), Dante Foley (drums), Peter Saudek (guitar), Theresa May (trumpet), and William Washington (trombone) -- approach the material with the seriousness that these lyrics and subjects demand, but the playing is intuitive, and rooted in traditions as diverse as industrial and gospel. I've heard nothing like this before, and I feel like there's an importance here that deserves attention, and multiple listens.
More details on Mourning [A] BLKstar via the official Facebook page, or the official website.
[Photo: Mourning [A] BLKstar Facebook page]