Dean Blunt: Black Metal 2 (180g) Vinyl LP Dean Blunt

Dean Blunt seems to have put off recording a proper follow-up to his opaque 2014 post-punk opus Black Metal as long as contractually possible… instead releasing around a dozen other projects including collaborations with Delroy Edwards, Panda Bear, and A$AP Rocky, not to mention steering boutique side projects Babyfather and Blue Iverson. Finally on vinyl after landing digitally earlier in the year, Black Metal 2 is the result of an extended 2020 session with UK producer Kwake Bass, who lends a newfangled musicality (and notably, an exquisite new drum sound) to Dean’s scrappy loop-based singer songwriter droll, while the singular talents of Mica Levi and Joanne Robertson (pure speculation, no credits or liner notes here) contribute tongue-on-battery guitar tones and celestial folk refrains, respectively, that will be familiar to anyone who’s been following the story so far. In contrast to the protracted runtime of the first Black Metal, BM2 is tantalizingly succinct, as if Dean’s finally distilled his arrangements to maximize rewind value in the streaming era. Check out “Mugu,” “Dash Snow,” “Sketamine,” “ZaZa” and the utterly flatlining coda “The Rot” for a taste (side note, makes a nice companion piece to that new Tirzah record, supposedly recorded at the same studio around the same time with the same cohorts). Black heavyweight vinyl edition with stark black cover and inner sleeve, recommended.

• 180g black vinyl pressing
• includes vinyl-exclusive bonus track “Astro”
• music label: Rough Trade 2021

reviewed by william, shotgun sprayer 10/2021

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