The Big Dream
That film director David Lynch has released a follow-up to 2011\'s *Crazy Clown Time* some 18 months later somewhat explains why he hasn\'t put out a full-length film since 2006\'s *Inland Empire*. Lynch truly has been busy in the studio recording music. Just as songs and incidental sounds were critical in creating atmosphere in his films, atmosphere is central to his music. Working again with sound engineer Dean Hurley, Lynch captures a mysterious, slow-building, disembodied tension that recalls vintage rockabilly, blues, and pop from decades long past, all while sounding sleekly modern. A cover of Bob Dylan\'s \"The Ballad of Hollis Brown\" (which Lynch admits is more a cover of Nina Simone\'s version) falls in line with the hypnotic, repetitive sounds of tracks such as \"We Rolled Together\" and \"Last Call.\" The weirder moments are when he breaks from this pattern on the straightforward \"Sun Can\'t Be Seen No More\" and the melodically beyond-his-reach \"Are You Sure,\" just before the bonus track \"I\'m Waiting Here,\" where Lynch hands over the tougher parts to Swedish singer/songwriter Lykke Li.
The film director's second full-length solo album continues with the smokey blues mood and creepy atmosphere of 2011's Crazy Clown Time. A digital bonus track features guest vocals from Lykke Li.
David Lynch’s first effort as a musician had a few hurdles to clear before listeners could take him seriously—his established career as a filmmaker, the album’s insane title, Crazy Clown Time. That record was the musical equivalent of Lynch’s Inland Empire, deeply experimental and too messy to deliver more than fitful…
David Lynch returns with an album that's markedly more focused and less peculiar than its predecessor. Still bonkers, mind.
If David Lynch has proven anything over the course of his long career in the arts, it's that you shouldn't dare attempt to…
The blues have been a part of David Lynch's art for years: pieces from Angelo Badalamenti's scores, like Fire Walk with Me's "The Pink Room," are dominated by time-tested chord progressions and moody atmospheres, while projects like Blue Bob demonstrated Lynch's formidable guitar skills.
Unlike the somewhat schizophrenic, rather hit-and-miss Crazy Clown Time, David Lynch's new album sounds like a David Lynch movie. Perhaps its the choice to root the songwriting in 12-bar blues, which so powerfully evokes the neon-lit roadhouse band of Twin Peaks; or the choice of Lykke Li as guest vocalist for bonus track I'm Waiting Here, which deliciously and wickedly nods to Badalmenti / Julee Cruise territory; or the understated dream pop of Cold Wind Blowin' and The Line It Curves, which easily trump Beach House at their own game
The 18 months or so since the release of his pop debut, Crazy Clown Time, have apparently not been kind to surrealist indie god David Lynch.
David Lynch's second album is a relentlessly uneasy listen, writes<strong> Ally Carnwath</strong>
David Lynch's singing career seems to be sauntering towards the mainstream, writes <strong>Paul MacInnes</strong>