“Don’t think I’m so cynical now. I’ve found my sound,” Neneh Cherry purrs on her song “Cynical,” off of her new album Blank Project. And yes, she has certainly found her own sound during her 16 year gap between solo albums. Cherry made her big break in the '80s with her single “Buffalo Stance,” but shrunk away from the limelight to explore her soulful punk side.
Her voices ebbs and flows throughout the album, never extending over a conversational level, intertwining with predominately percussion-driven background beats. In a period of music drowned in over-the-top vocals and intense, techno crescendos waiting to “drop the bass,” Cherry’s album is a deep breath. Her methodic and rhythmic voice mirrors the aesthetics of a Def Poetry Jam performer, but is offset by a toned-down version of Animal Collective or Santogold’s instrumental sound, leaving the audience mesmerized by her honesty and emotion.
The opening track “Across the Water” introduces her even-keeled tone and lulling tempo, combined with simplistic, instrumental arrangements that are consistent throughout the album. Subsequent songs increase in tempo, but only slightly, keeping the emphasis on her half-spoken, half-sung lyrics and drumming beats. In “Blank Project,” the ricocheting electronics collaborate with a steady bass line to emphasize her manic and passionate mood. “Spit Three Times” begins slow and low, but builds creating a tension that relays her addiction to a discorded love affair. Cherry brings it down a notch in “422.” The singular beat paired with soulful lyric creates a truthful and vulnerable connection.
Blank Project strips away all the unnecessary bravado and focuses on the basics: unembellished vocals and minimalist arrangements. By breaking her songs down, she builds emotional connections, showing that understated can be dramatic. The album has a contemporary and experimental feel, but not in an overdone way. During the last 16 years, Cherry has evolved from a '80s pop sensation into an artist with a sense of self, reaffirming that “good things happen to those who wait.” And yes, Mrs. Cherry, Blank Project was worth the wait.
Rating: B
