On his sophomore record, Benjamin Clementine plays up his penchant for theatricality while continuing to push the ever-shifting experimental dimensions to his sound.
Benjamin Clementine/ I Tell A Fly
It's not often, in this day and age, that you would come across an artist whose foray into music didn't involve appearing on some TV talent show or doing Ed Sheeran covers on YouTube. London-born singer-songwriter and self-taught pianist Benjamin Clementine is one such artist. Spotted while homeless and busking in Paris, in just a few years he went from being a down-and-out musician to becoming a cult figure in the Paris music scene, then appearing on Later…with Jools Holland before eventually winning the 2015 Mercury Prize for his debut album, At Least for Now.
Known for his unpredictable piano stylings paired with sombre, dramatic tenor and operatic tendencies, Clementine has an otherworldly look to match -- towering height and high cheekbones. His presence on stage commands just as much attention as the music he makes. After guesting on Gorillaz's Hallelujah Money earlier this year, he returns with his sophomore LP, I Tell A Fly. Meant as a play about "two flies travelling", the album touches upon topics far beyond its title leads on, spanning his bullied childhood, those itinerant days of being an outsider and today's political issues, particularly the refugee crisis.
Inspired by the work of renowned British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, six-minute lead cut Phantom of Aleppoville finds him drawing from his own experience of being bullied and the plight of Syrian children. "O Billy the bully/Come on out of your hideout/Billy the bully, it's all right," he croons over expansive piano chords. "You've been forgiven/Come on now Zacchaeus/Come down from your sycamore tree/We're dancing, roses are found dancing."
Farewell Sonata begins with a tender piano melody before morphing into a sonic cacophony. The jarring sense of this discordance gets repeated on tracks like One Awkward Fish and God Save The Jungle, an apparent dig at the UK national anthem and the Calais refugee camp ("Welcome to jungle, dear/Risk it on a tooth or bone as you travel along/Come and run, run to the roads … Old alien in foreign lands again/You better beat it and go back home/'Cause if they find you they will kill you"). Elsewhere, he alludes to French nationalism, singing "Paris friend had a little pen" (Paris Cor Blimey) and gives us a somewhat conventional piano ballad (Quintessence).
In many respects, the works of Benjamin Clementine could be favourably compared to those of Antony and the Johnsons' Antony Hegarty (aka Anohni). On I Tell A Fly, the grandiose and dramatic qualities have been cranked up to 11. Clementine has crafted an uninhibited album that's unpoetically avant-garde while also making important statements concerning today's geopolitical landscape. This is truly one of this year's most poignant and inspired records -- one that deserves to be heard.
THE PLAYLIST
Water Lily Alligators/ Sunrise
A purveyor of endearing ditties, Thai indie-pop outfit Jor Ra Kay Bua follow up on previous singles Reur (Little Boat) and Yood Tee Derm (Pause) with a new one called Sunrise. Here the trio don't really stray too far from their pastel aesthetic, creating the sort of bubbly music in the same vein as Bakery Music's now-defunct subsidiary label Dojo City. Over buoyant synths, frontwoman Virajata "Toon" Mahapaurya sings about starting a new day with someone you love. Reminiscent of the early Daft Punk, the vocoder breakdown towards the end is a nifty touch that gives the whole thing an extra dose of playfulness.
Jessie J/ Think About That
"I've carried this load for way too long/ I couldn't let you go, under a spell of don't, don't, don't," Jessie J sings defiantly on her latest jam, Think About That. "Ego reaction, guess I was holding up face/By saving your ass, you spent my money and I lost their faith." Built around quiet piano chords and sputtering percussion, the song arrives two years following 2015's Flashlight and puts the British songstress in an uncharacteristically restrained (and slightly murderous) mood. "You just laughed when I cried/Think about that/Who lives the real sacrifice?" she seethes, letting out some weighty sighs in the process.
Pale Grey/ Blizzard
Brussels-based trio Pale Grey are quickly becoming our favourite new band, thanks to their brand of expansive dream-pop. Here, the Belgian threesome return with Blizzard, a new single imbued with a slice of masculine passive-aggressiveness. "How can I tell you that I'm fine, I'm fine?/I know you don't believe but I feel fine/When I call, you never come around" vocalist Gilles Delwaque deadpans in his cool, unbothered baritone. As the chorus hits, organ-like synths trickle into the mix, lending the whole thing a touch of gothic.
Holiday Ghosts/ Can't Bear To Be Boring
Fans of Aussie singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett will appreciate Holiday Ghosts, an up-and-coming UK band founded by singer and guitarist Sam Stacpoole. Lifted from their self-titled debut LP and built around a lo-fi, infectious garage-rock production, Can't Bear To Be Boring finds drummer Katja Rackin on the vocal duties, sing-speaking "Find out something real and then smash it into pieces/To comfort all your thoughts when you start to feel the pretence." Even though this is a relatively short piece (clocking at mere two and a half minutes), it's full of sonic impact.
Moses Sumney/ Don't Bother Calling
"I'm not a body, the body is but a shell/ I disembody but suffering is sovereign," Moses Sumney sagely croons in the opening verse of Don't Bother Calling, the latest cut off his debut full-length Aromanticism. Set to acoustic guitar and hushed electronic beats, the song provides Sumney's lilting falsetto with a plenty of wiggle room to expand and soar. If you enjoyed the soulful experimental vibe of Benjamin Clementine (see this week's album review), this should be right up your alley.
