David Bowie was worth the wait, Justin Timberlake releases one of the albums of the year

What a great month; It's not a small thing to hear Bowie's new album after ten years, The,what this might mean for each, the best Justin Timberlake you could imagine, Depeche Mode on form and a new artist like Assaf Avidan to move you. That's all!

Justin Timperlake – «20/20 Experience»


WWG-RCA

I declare myself a fan of Justin right off the bat, but that doesn't mean I accept that he effortlessly pitches to me.. But how can I remain unmoved in this storm of ideas and inspiration that came upon me from the first moment I heard this news, his third album.

I had a fear because I thought his relationship with Timbaland would end in fiasco, since the latter has long since run out of ideas, in addition to the fact that his very good works bear the signature of the beloved Missy Elliott. But Justin is a smart guy.

He knows and gets what he needs from everyone he works with, as all the greats of the past did, and so does his new co-producer Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon. But above all, he has a vision. In this album he manages in a magical way to bring together the great things from the past, see The Chi-Lites, Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Prince with the so-called neo-soul of our day and to present a bold project for an artist of this scope.

Instead of presenting easy-to-digest sketches of three to four minutes and adding two or three rhymes from some well-known rappers and ending, he worked hard and blended almost everything in his personal blender.

Groovy Oriental and African rhythms on 'Let The Groove Get In', sweet seventilla on "Spaceship Coup", Prince's looks in 'Tunnel Vision'. No doubt, one of the albums of the year, and one of those that challenge you to explore them constantly. I didn't like it, when he answered about the long duration of the songs how: "I don't understand why Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd had the right and we didn't". A soul messiah was born. I hope the obsession with color stays in music and doesn't follow in Michael's footsteps!

9/10

Depeche Mode – «Delta Machine»


Columbia

If Delta refers to selling their soul to the devil in order to gain maximum inspiration for their music, perhaps Depeche Mode should try harder. On the other hand because I belong to those whose DNA has been watered by the Holy Trinity of their discography "Black Celebration" – «Music For The Masses» – "Violator" and I accept like a good boy any of their offers, especially in a period when we are not even shocked by innovations.

"Delta Machine" according to Dave Gahan is the last part of a trilogy, that no one realized, with producer Ben Hillier. But it magically contains all the elements and reasons why we loved this band from Britain. Maybe not, it's the first time their work takes on that dark dimension we loved in the Alan Wilder era, especially in songs like 'Angel' and 'Secret To The End'.

Electronic vignettes of high aesthetics and deep introspection as always happens with Martin Gore's speech. There are many reasons to love 'Delta Machine', I pick 'Should Be Higher' a twist, post-dance dynamite with vocals beyond imagination.

8/10


 David Bowie – «The Next Day»


Sony Music

I wanted some time to die down with all this fuss about David Bowie's new release, already No. 1 in all countries of the world. I wanted to see more calmly not only if it was worth all this ten-year wait, but also if he finally had a reason to break his silence and release an album of new songs on 66 his years and after all he has done.

I'm not going to fall into the trap of ranking it, it has become boring to have every new album of his judged as 'the,what's better than the 70s" or "o,what better last ten, twenty or thirty years". We'd better make up our minds that with such an offer as he had throughout the 70s it's impossible for him to ever record anything like it. On the other hand, in the last thirty years, he has released albums that put the glasses on many newcomers, such as the excellent "1. Outside' or 'Heathen'.

In this context, "The Next Day" also moves and goes even further I would say. It is Bowie's attempt to read himself after the countless copies that have preceded him by others. His Bowie 2013 he opens his colorful palette and chooses the ones that make him happy or at least the ones that help him express himself today.

Starting with an inventive cover that takes us back to 'Heroes' as the title heralds the future, we are in the song of the same name whose intro is 'Repetition' from 'Lodger' to later become the,anything from "Scary Monsters". Valentine's Day is new-glam, becomes the crooner we loved in the past with 'Heat', "How Does The Grass Grow" with its chorus is reminiscent of "Soul Love", 'Dirty Boys' his collaborations with Iggy and 'Love Is Lost' his industrial vignettes '1. Outside».  Το «Where Are We Now?” was just the right introduction for this self-reading with the flashback to the Berlin days that everyone likes to refer to today. But nothing in "The Next Day" sounds outdated and outdated. Very neat production by Visconti as always and flawlessly performed music by experts like guitarist David Thorne and of course the beloved Earl Slick.

The 2004 after the health problem he had, very wisely he had said that he was not going to write warmly about o,what happened to him, he followed it and did well. The references to death now especially through the wonderful track "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die" are not so much about the shock of the fear of death but more about the awareness of mortality.

In short a solid piece of work from an Artist who has absolutely nothing to prove and still knows how to market some of the most adventurous music around like no other..

9/10

Asaf Avidan – «Different Pulses»

Universal

One of the biggest surprises of the year is without a doubt this awesome kid from Israel. The "spiritual child of Dylan and Joplin" as they call him did not come from heaven after he has recorded in recent years with his band Asaf Avidan & The Mojos and became known to the wider public both with the hit 'One Day / Reckoning Song" as well as for his participation in the Who tribute at Carnegie Hall and his support appearances with Bob Dylan.

The big asset in Asaf Avidan's case is his unique voice and that's what's interesting about his first solo album, that while it could remain in the ease of impressing us lists a dozen songs of excellent writing, mature verse and most importantly amazing choruses. Songs that you can identify with for one reason or another but mostly you can sing along _ a rare thing these days.

8/10

Source : tovima.gr