It is almost impossible to categorise The Blackheart Orchestra. They could be the loudest duo in the world producing a rich sound that is sometimes reminiscent of Moulettes. Diving For Roses is their first album under this name following three recorded as Blackheart.
Chrissy Mostyn and Rick Pilkington mix conventional instruments: guitar, piano, flugelhorn, with electronica and vintage synths. Sometimes their sound is cut down to keyboards and a drum loop, at others it is rich with multilayered vocals. The album opens with their two singles, ‘Sebastian’ and ‘Keep The Light In’, the latter becoming a real ear-worm after two or three plays. I must confess that The Blackheart Orchestra do not represent my usual musical style and I’ve found myself listening much more carefully than I would to more familiar material. That is no bad thing and some of the instrumental passages really stand out as a result. The ending of ‘Right By Your Side’, for example, is superb and I’m not even going to guess what was being used. The opening of ‘Hypnotize’ has a suitably hypnotic quality as ringing guitars circle over the keyboards.
‘Darling Africa’ begins with more mysterious sounds and is one of the album’s top tracks. In contrast, ‘I’m Yours’ is an almost conventional piano driven ballad and ‘Born To Live’ is an almost conventional rock song. I’m still not sure what to call what it is that The Blackheart Orchestra do but they do it very well.
Dai Jeffries
Artists’ website: www.theblackheartorchestra.com
‘Sebastian’ – official video:
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