Blackloud, Mysterious Waves

Mysterious Waves is an album by Blackloud, which is a one-man recording project by (you guessed it) James Blackloud. The record’s a mixture of drum machines and psychedelia with a whimsical feel, similar to old Flaming Lips. It’s mostly danceable, but the slower tempos and the lo-fi production place the groove in that more theoretical post-punk sense rather than the techno sense. On some of the songs, Blackloud uses lots of processed sounds instead of extra instruments, but the core of the sound is the bass, the drum machine, and his vocals.

He’s good at coming up with different ways to keep you entertained. His warmly affected vocals give you a sense that he doesn’t take any of it too seriously, which makes it more fun to listen to. “VHF” is probably the best and most entertaining song here — there are lots of keyboard wiggles, bouncy bass lines, vocals poking fun at themselves, and dorky drum machine parts. And even on the songs that sound almost industrial, like “Outtake,” the vocals help take the edge off the song.

Unfortunately, however, there isn’t always much going on behind the fun. “VHF” comes together, but most of the songs aren’t quite as interesting. The melody in “Outtake” is somewhat irritating, and the phrasing doesn’t help, either, even with the call-and-response vocals. “Powder Burn” has a good dance-y beat behind it, but the melody doesn’t meet the challenge — it’s not real interesting. It’s not bad, but it’s not great.

Blackloud does have some interesting ideas, like playing a punk rock song entirely on the bass on “Outtake,” the odd meters on the folky “Paper Sailboat,” or the dance groove on “Powder Burn.” But most of the time he fails to combine a good idea with a catchy melody.