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Dec 11, 2013 Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band By Dan Lucas

It’s probably fair to say that we are not currently living in the age of the polymath. Jamie Foxx and, once upon a time, Will Smith have turned their hands to hip hop, and Tom Waits and Jon Bon Jovi make the odd film appearance with varying degrees of success, but none of these are exactly Thomas Young. Arguably the closest we have to a genuinely multifaceted artist in the contemporary music scene is TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe: accomplished singer, producer, actor, director, and animator.

Adebimpe appears to be using Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band to explore his Krautrock and drone leanings. He’s accompanied on this self-titled EP by Ryan Sawyer (Lone Wolf and Cub), Josh Werner (Lee “Scratch” Perry, CocoRosie), and Alex Holden (Big Numbers), all artists with leanings to that genre, but despite the obvious attempt to capture the sound of the likes of Can and Talk Talk, this comes across as a shot at ambitious retromania that sadly falls short.

Adebimpe’s vocals are above solid and as soulful as ever, not least on highlight “Hugh Beaumont is Dead,” but feel stark against reverb-soaked drones that sputter out rather than intricately bubble into life as you feel they should. (www.hwbmb.com)

Author rating: 5/10