It’s a strange, varied affair, playing like a lost soundtrack to something doomed, yet beautiful. The music ranges from synth-based melody and filtered noise (“Summer Wheels/ Mysterious Fires”), to tape-hiss-laden acoustic ballads.
Review: Secret Boyfriend – This Is Always Where You’ve Lived
National Music Reviews
Secret Boyfriend
This Is Always Where You’ve Lived
Blackest Ever Black
Street: 12.09.13
Secret Boyfriend = Oneohtrix Point Never + Matthew Dear + Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks score
Blackest Ever Black has released several of my favorite records within the last year or so, and I was interested to hear This Is Always Where You’ve Lived simply based on the label. Admittedly, my expectations were not met, but that is not to say that I am displeased with the album. It’s a strange, varied affair, playing like a lost soundtrack to something doomed, yet beautiful. The music ranges from synth-based melody and filtered noise (“Summer Wheels/ Mysterious Fires”), to tape-hiss-laden acoustic ballads, and songs like “Beyond the Darkness,” which sounds like what could have been a demo B-side to Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” The nature of the recording is more bedroom than studio—intimate, and with a slight haze hovering about. The aforementioned track is recommended as a reference point, along with “Last Town,” for an idea of what to expect. –T.H.
This Is Always Where You’ve Lived
Blackest Ever Black
Street: 12.09.13
Secret Boyfriend = Oneohtrix Point Never + Matthew Dear + Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks score
Blackest Ever Black has released several of my favorite records within the last year or so, and I was interested to hear This Is Always Where You’ve Lived simply based on the label. Admittedly, my expectations were not met, but that is not to say that I am displeased with the album. It’s a strange, varied affair, playing like a lost soundtrack to something doomed, yet beautiful. The music ranges from synth-based melody and filtered noise (“Summer Wheels/ Mysterious Fires”), to tape-hiss-laden acoustic ballads, and songs like “Beyond the Darkness,” which sounds like what could have been a demo B-side to Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” The nature of the recording is more bedroom than studio—intimate, and with a slight haze hovering about. The aforementioned track is recommended as a reference point, along with “Last Town,” for an idea of what to expect. –T.H.
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