BLÊB

BL'B is the name of a mysterious English artist from Leeds who released a single album in 1999 simply titled BL'B. I didn't realize that there is actually a word 'bleb' in the English language which refers to a blister-like protrusion (often hemispherical) filled with serous fluid. And who says listening to weird obscure music can't be educational? While this artist simply released one album it did find interest on the Wagenhalt Recordings label which was an American label that put out all only three releases thus making it as obscure as this artist! It should be noted that BL'B also contributed two songs to the 'You're On Your Own' compilation on the Flat Earth label.

There is absolutely no info to be found about this artist so BL'B is a true mystery artist but one thing is for sure and that is that this is some very strange music indeed. The closest band i can associate this bizarre mishmash of genre soup is the equally crazed band The Residents but BL'B also features influences from everything from post-punk and classical music to mostly electronic but the no wave and noise rock categories seem to be one of the biggest influences. Heavy doses of avant-prog laced time signatures also find their way into tracks that are inspired by 'normal' music from the past such as 'The Air That I Breathe' by The Hollies.

While mostly an instrumental album, a few vocal parts show up with a British female narrator and some processed vocal lines that remind me of the indie pop freaks Ween. For the most part this album excels in nerdy frenetic keyboard assaults but it strives to go for the brutal prog jugular much of the time or devolving into depressive weirdness that excels at mopiness however there are feisty classical piano recitals such as on 'Major Toothache In A Something' and all kinds of other surprises! In fact this is very much one of those random anything goes album which sounds like a bedroom album performed by a single musician just letting off steam.

Instrument-wise BL'B focuses on the keyboards which in some cases is the only instrument heard. The other sound is a drum machine which does offer a cheesiness to the album but considering the album is a DIY affair you can't really take any of this very seriously. While dissonance and cacophony rule at moments, some tracks like 'Ang'lia + 'a M'f' Bi 1 Rir' are completely melodic and structured like an 80s new wave hit. Other tracks like "Stylo + Jean-Pierre' take the opposite approach and go the skronky no wave route. A bass guitar can be heard occasional such as on 'Some Lakes Somewhere' but for the vast majority of the album it's a guitar / bass - free experience. Some of the weirder tracks like 'T't Time Three' are beyond description. There's also some musique concrete with 'Deep Meaning Bull[&*!#].'

Given the musical talents showcased here, surely this mystery musician has played in other bands and performed on other albums. To me this sounds like a solo album albeit cloaked in anonymity and mystery. This is an interesting album indeed but at nearly 59 minutes and 17 tracks it does get a little tiring towards the end. As a random crazy no holds barred type of solo offering though, there's a lot of cool stuff to be heard here especially if you like weirdo music but as a whole the album is inconsistent and really not an essential slice of weirdness even for the hardcores who seek the strangest most demented music to be heard (like me!) Cool to experience at least once and pretty much only available on YouTube given its obscurity.

3.5 rounded down