Review Summary: Under yellow light comes the face of tomorrow.
To what extent can an artist fully experiment with their sound without losing the meaning in the process? A question without a clear answer, the extent in which one can tinker with their sound is limitless although the end result can sometimes result in the original concept being lost within the work itself. What does this have to do with David Sylvian however? Known for being remarkably steadfast in his willingness to create increasingly avant-garde music at the constant risk of alienating his fanbase, Sylvian all but abandoned the conventional pop format once and for all with his seminal work,
Blemish. Further delving into the absurd with albums such as
Manafon,
Wandermude and various other projects, Sylvian reached a point of no return. No signs of the Sylvian that once put out the timeless
Secrets of the Beehive nor the man who once managed to be experimental
and accessible were anywhere to be found, the scraggly-bearded noise crooner taking his place at the turn of the millennium. Fast forward to the new decade and Sylvian was as uncompromising as he was when he turned his back on pop music and the major labels along with it – in place of these were now art installations and full artistic control over his works, which resulted in the pieces
When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima and
There's a Light That Enters Houses With No Other House in Sight.
With this all in mind, this brings us to this particular single –
”Do You Know Me Now? b/w ”Where’s Your Gravity?”, the first song-based work Sylvian has put out since 2009’s
Manafon. The songs that make up this single are perhaps an extension of past one-offs such as
”For The Love of Life” and
”Transit” due to their more approachable nature without compromising the ideas of its creator for the sake of accessibility. By no means are the two songs on here accessible, but to compare them to material like
”The Good Son” and
”Random Acts of Senseless Violence” is nigh impossible. Both songs herein have a distinct identity and a heavy emphasis on minimalism, atmosphere and vivid lyricism. The lead off,
”Do You Know Me Now?” opts for a narrative that resolutely ends in calm rejection and meager satiation; the other half,
”Where’s Your Gravity?” replaces the acoustic strumming of its counterpart for a pulsating ambient rhythm amidst strings and abstract melodies to complement Sylvian’s bitter lyric about a marriage cracking at the seams that could be a return to the mindset of
Blemish. Fast forward once more to 2017 – it has now been close to four years since Sylvian brought forth a work such as this and chances are, it will be a considerable amount of time before he gathers enough material to create another album. There’s no set date on which Sylvian will surprise us with something new, but for the time being, these two songs will certainly keep us occupied.
