A
complete departure from the usual HNIA sound, the predecessor
to Last Night, Someday
My Blues Will Cover The Earth, took the band’s
enormous and devoted fan base completely by surprise, alienating
a fair few in the process. For ten years, during which time
band members changed a few times, Warn Defever had driven his
project from the dark ethereal ambiences of Livonia
and Home Is In Your Head to the indie rock of the following
three albums. Someday… however was the result
of Defever’s fascination for singer Lovetta Pippen’s
voice, who debuted on the band’s previous album, Fort
Lake, after he managed to convince her to leave her gospel
choir to join His Name Is Alive. Built around her singing abilities,
the album explored the realms of classic soul and R’n’B.
Further fruit of the Defever/Pippen collaboration, Last
Night is, in Warn’s own words, more an extension
of Someday… than a continuation. Ditching the
hi-tech sound of the last album for a more organic touch, this
album, recorded while the pair was considering touring, marks
a return to guitars and more conventional rock forms. The charges
of electricity, characteristic of the HNIA of the past, are
replaced by more intimate acoustic soundscapes, unearthing on
the way some of Defever’s funk and jazz influences (Someday
My Prince Will Come, Train), occasionally turning
the power back on (I Have Special Powers). Daring enough
to play Jimi Hendrix on his own terrain with the cover of In
From The Storm, Defever keeps remarkably in the background
for the rest of the album, leaving Lovetta to capture the imagination
of the listener. The epic and haunting title track, possibly
one of the best songs heard this year, establishes the more
straightforward and direct approach to the soulful melodies
carved by Defever, bringing all the beauties hidden behind Someday’s
polished production in full light, Lovetta appears more fragile
and vulnerable, yet she drives the performance with confidence
and determination. Her rendition of Teardrops, originally
penned by Eddy Grant’s Equals and I Have Special Powers
is breathtaking, while she captivates equally on the more laidback
Devil’s Night and the beautiful and stripped down I
Can See Myself In Her, where her gentle emotional touches
acts as many spots of colour on a blank canvas.
Last Night will no doubt reconcile Defever with his
usual fans, possibly bringing them round to open up to Someday
in the process. He has found in Pippen the ideal partner to
bring out the best of his musical abilities.
4.5/5 |
