Dan Black : Symphonies
Released: Out Now!!!
Label: Polydor
Another day, another chance to review one of the biggest ‘buzz’ acts around at the moment, Dan Black, a French electro superstar (who previously sang in The Servant) who has received considerable praise from the likes of Radio 1, XFm and NME.
Unfortunately however it would seem that based purely on this track, his debut single from ‘Un’ that he may not deserve all the praise that is coming his way. The first thing that people will notice when hearing the song is that his drum beat (a combination of snare and cymbals) is very similar to that in Rhianna’s song ‘Umbrella’ this is because it is the same beat. Not a good start for an electro artist who you would expect would be able to produce his own, unique beats. His vocals are whiney and annoying, Black sounds like he is struggling when trying to reach some of the songs higher notes and this does not make for a pleasant listen. Furthermore, in terms of instrumentation there is very little to get excited about, the song plods along at a meandering pace doing little to inspire the listener.
The tracks lyrics are also poor (something that could have been the tracks saving grace), neither well thought out or particularly deep he sings ‘Gimme more then the life I see/ Score adds up/ Angels play/ Let my loneliness get blown away’. ‘Symphonies’ does have one retaining feature though, a stunning string section in the chorus, however little develops from this as neither the vocals or the beat compliment it particularly well, as a result leaving it sounding decidedly anti-climatic.
Hopefully for the sake of Dan Black, this was just a poor choice for a first single and his album will be full of tracks that are pure electro bliss, ‘Symphonies’ however is not getting the Parisian off to a particularly good start.
Words: Kevin Angel
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