This, the debut album from ex-The Servants frontman Dan Black, has been long awaited to say the least. Ever since his first single after being signed to Polydor Records in 2008, "Alone", a mass of Electronica fans and Synth lovers have been lying in wait. "Yours" then came a short time later, merely to tease those already in love with Black's sound, and to goad those unfamiliar with him into his ever-increasing fan base.
The album begins with the song "Symphonies", an electro-orchestra backed ballad. This song is everything one could expect from Black after hearing "Yours" or "Alone", and is a great yet unexpectedly gloomy start to the album, the chorus bringing about the lyrics “Gimme gimme symphonies, Gimme more than the life I see”.
The second track on the album follows the gloomy premise of the first. "U + Me =" is backed by solemn and relaxing tones, overlaid perfectly by Black's unique voice, which at times becomes almost hymnal. The huge increase in audio power at the onset of the chorus is enough to shock the system, and occasionally gains too much dominance, dwarfing the angelic vocals.
"Alone" brings a change to the proceedings, moving away from the doom and gloom of the first three songs, and kicking off with a funky combination of slap bass and synthetic beats. This shift in tone is repeated again in "Yours", which begins also with a funky hook right from the onset. The high pitched vocals almost screaming when the song reaches the chorus, "I don't wanna be yours no more".
"Pump my Pumps" is nothing but a showcase of Dan Black’s talent. The song kicks off with a haunting duo of tone and processed beats. As Black's voice starts the first verse, “Follow the lover, into the waves”, its hard not to be taken aback already. This track is the most dancefloor worthy of the album, something the artist no doubt intended, considering the lyrics of the chorus “I just pump my pumps, pumpin’ on the floor”. This and "Wonder" are without a doubt the picks of the album and show electro-pop songwriting at its very best. "Wonder" begins life more orchestral and more haunting than any of the tracks before it, with reverb on full, it gives this song an impression like a strobe light in a graveyard. The chorus is a different story, heralded in by acoustic guitar, and the lyrics “But have you noticed, summer comes and disappears”.
The final four songs however, move away from the brilliance of the first eight, and move into what unfortunately seems like filler track territory. By the time "I Love Life" emerges, it becomes very hard not to switch the volume down and turn on the TV. Whether it's because the artist himself has ran out of steam and substance, or the listener has just grown bored of the gloomy synth and high pitched voice, this really is the downfall of what would be an almost flawless and pragmatic debut for Dan Black.
