Dave Rowntree – Radio Songs (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 37:36 minutes | 731 MB | Genre: Art Pop, Ambient Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Cooking Vinyl
Blur drummer Dave Rowntree releases his debut album Radio Songs on Cooking Vinyl. Standout track London Bridge was produced with Leo Abrahams (Wild Beasts / Brian Eno / Ghostpoet). It heralds the start of an exciting new project for Rowntree, over three decades since Blur formed back in 1989. London Bridge is an enticing opening statement. Deceptively bright and upbeat, with its staccato ‘la-la-la-la’ hook line, the music belies a lyrical sense of dread. As proficient with a synth or guitar as he is behind the drum-kit, Rowntree’s innate ear for a melody is given free-reign on this scuzzy but impactful, lo-fi number.
Radio Songs is a title that suggests a collection of hooky pop tunes, the kind of songs that are part and parcel on the airwaves. That’s not quite what Blur drummer Dave Rowntree delivers on his first solo album, nor is it quite his intention. Rowntree views the radio as a bit of a transportive device, where a new sound, texture, or world can be heard with the spin of a dial. It’s a notion that’s not too far removed from “This Is a Low,” the dreamy, otherworldly closing number on Blur’s Parklife, a song that somewhat echoes through Radio Songs. Other ghosts of Blur can be detected here, too, such as the singsong chorus of “London Bridge” or the plaintive nocturnal new wave of “Machines Like Me.” These aren’t conscious evocations so much as a musician working with his own familiar vernacular; it’s inevitable that some Blur would seep into Rowntree’s own music. Where Blur plays to large audiences, Rowntree keeps things intimate. His arrangements are hushed, tempos generally gentle, his vocals are murmured — qualities that remain whether a song is stripped to its essence or decorated with muted colors. This carefully constructed introspection does fulfill Rowntree’s intention of Radio Songs mimicking the shape-shifting nature of late-night listening, acting as an aural journey to an astral plane. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist:
1-1. Dave Rowntree – Devil’s Island (03:13)
1-2. Dave Rowntree – Downtown (03:36)
1-3. Dave Rowntree – London Bridge (03:18)
1-4. Dave Rowntree – 1000 Miles (04:30)
1-5. Dave Rowntree – HK (03:59)
1-6. Dave Rowntree – Tape Measure (02:58)
1-7. Dave Rowntree – Machines Like Me (04:03)
1-8. Dave Rowntree – Black Sheep (02:56)
1-9. Dave Rowntree – Volcano (05:07)
1-10. Dave Rowntree – Who’s Asking (03:50)
