Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

J. Blake - When You Comin' Home?

11/26/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
J. Blake

When You Comin' Home?
self-released; 2014

3.7 out of 5

By B Parker
Though When You Comin' Home? is J. Blake's solo debut, it's hardly his first outing. Previously he's founded two other bands (Roadkill Breakfast and Stiletto Wheels) and has played his guitar both as lead and as a solo act throughout the New York area. So it's safe to assume going in that he knows what he's doing musically. For When You Comin' Home? he's focused his efforts solely on the blues genre and rounds out his sound with a four-piece backing band.

In the grand tradition of the blues, there are a good number of covers offered up here. Blake and the band take on the Howlin' Wolf classic “Spoonful” and do an excellent job of presenting it in a different light. They go against the grain of the original by framing it more as a beatnik jam: Blake sings in a cool whisper as dense drums carry the track with a simple beat. The keyboard also takes a prominent role, accounting for much of the additional minute in the song's run time, mostly during the intro.

Other covers are more subtle in their differences. “Honey Bee” (Tom Petty) falls very close to the original in terms of sound. “Headed Out to Vera's” (John Pizzarelli) departs from the lounge original mostly in tone: Blake's voice, with just the slightest rasp to it, combined with more focus on the guitar work than the original, places the song firmly in a truck-stop jukebox. The Zepplin standard “Rock and Roll” sounds much brighter, having brought the keys high up in the mix. 

J. Blake and his band make good use of fundamental blues structures throughout the album. Where the band makes their mark is in atmosphere. The five-and-a-half minute title track is how someone like I, who has only a basic familiarity with blues, pictures the genre: a slow, expressive, at times sparse and at others bursting short story. There's lots of repetition in the lyrics, but as Blake continues to “wonder when you comin' home” the desperation of the words increases without overtaking everything else. Indeed, the backbone of the song remains the music itself and here we get some great riffs and fills to bridge the gaps between lines. “Rocking Chair” is lyrically quite brief, allowing for the band to flex their technical prowess. Starting early in the second minute, a spiraling guitar solo plays for over half a minute and before trading places with a Hammond-tinged keyboard before returning to Blake's vocals and the song's steady pace. 

The album remains solid throughout with the only weak link being the previously mentioned “Honey Bee” cover. It would have been nice to hear more out of the backing players, particularly in the early half of the record; I can hear the keyboards and bass in the mix but there are times when they're buried just a little too deep. Then again, it is Blake's record, so it only makes sense that the guitar playing would take the lead.
official website
Tweet
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band

© Divide and Conquer 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact