About a year ago, my best friend died suddenly and unexpectedly. I have been grieving him ever since. The funny thing about my grieving process is that I will, on occasion, be bowled over by some very mundane thing that will, inexplicably, viscerally remind me of his absence. I might be enjoying a pretzel and suddenly think "Huh, I bet Jared liked pretzels" and then loneliness and despair will settle over me like a cloak.
Jared would have loved Erika de Casier. He was always very interested in the margins of R&B, in bedroom pop, in electronic music in all its forms. He would have demanded I listen to it. It would have been in his top albums of the year. I listen to this album now, and all I can think is "well, at least I will not be recommended music like this anymore."
I understand that's all a bit morbid. So is this version of R&B, which is stripped of its bombast and sensuality, in the name of a production style that suggests intimacy but lacks the warmth or longing required to pull this kind of thing off. The playing with early-to-mid '90s west coast rap production is interesting, but it's more of a straight borrow than a reinvention. Erika de Casier might be good one day. I won't be around to find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment