Producer, bandleader (
No-Man
,
Porcupine Tree
) and multi-instrumentalist
Steven Wilson
joined forces with Israeli
singer/songwriter
Aviv Gefen
in 2000, when
Gefen
invited
Wilson
to play with him for a series of concerts in Israel. Their first album as a duo, recording under the name
Blackfield
, does betray their mutual love of 1960s and 1970s classic
rock
, but it also contains more than a hint of an '80s influence -- at times the band sounds like a cross between
Tears for Fears
and a more organic-sounding
Pet Shop Boys
. Lyrically, they throw down the gauntlet early -- the first line of the first song goes "Here's a song from an open mind." Everything else is no big surprise: scars are mentioned more than once, as are nightmares, pain, death and sorrow. But
's sound is anything but morose. The music isn't exactly chipper, but it's always rich and pretty, and at times (as on the album-ending
"Hello"
) it's downright grandiose. There are also quite a few sonic surprises thrown into the mix, such as the almost subliminal found-sound experimentation on
"Lullaby"
and the sudden incursion of Middle Eastern reeds and a
drum'n'bass
breakbeat in the middle of the otherwise sweet and dreamy
"Scars."
The bonus disc with video content makes the deal that much sweeter. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson