Blake – HMS Blake (2020)
While Blake began his music career as a teenager playing bass and singing in a Joy Division cover band, it was only in his late twenties that he embraced his songwriting abilities. In 2004, UK-based artist Blake recorded his debut album Solomon’s Tump and caught the attention of London indie label Ecto Music. At that time, Blake founded and performed in a psychedelic-rock band called Karma Truffle and he persuaded Ecto Music to sign the band instead of him as a solo artist. After releasing an album and an EP, the band dissolved resulting in Blake spreading his solo wings again.
Adopting a DIY approach, he began recording and self-producing music at home with the help of crowdfunding for his albums. In 2012 Blake released the well-received album Stay Human on 208 Records. His 2014 album RIDE was also supported using crowdfunding and is his first release on vinyl. Fast-forward to 2020, after some notable live appearances and a couple more singles, Blake released the lockdown album, HMS Blake, on South African indie label Subjangle.
Inspired and influenced by acts like Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles, Blake could be described as the lovechild of Paul McCartney and Mick Fleetwood but raised by Keith Urban. With over 40 tracks, HMS Blake is a comprehensive exploration of Blake’s evolution as an artist. Ranging from the older folk-rock ‘Star Over Bethlehem’, ‘Vinyl Junkie’ and ‘Shooting Star’ to the more recent indie-rock tracks like ‘The Free Life’ and ‘Whenever’, one can see his growth in sound while still maintaining a distinct art-rock edge throughout.
As mentioned, HMS Blake is a collection of material from the days of Karma Truffle to the current solo project. While I’d love to go through every track on the double CD, it would be a little longwinded and the review would be almost painful to read. So, overall, I find the album indicative of Blake’s innovativeness as an artist with the Beatles-esque tribute song ‘Pepper Man’ to the psych-rock vibe in ‘Denied’. One element that draws everything together is Blake’s warm and bold vocals slapping a modern twist on old-school indie-rock and folk bands.
Quick side note and random facts: ‘Vinyl Junkie’ is featured in the British crime film, ‘Dragonflies Only Live For 24 Hours’, as well as receiving a spot in the September/October issue of Relix Music Magazine.
For more from Blake check out his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
