Album Notes

Album Review:
Robert Blake
Humdinger Days and Humdinger Nights

Victory Review: April 2001

Bellingham songwriter, Robert Blake's second solo release erupts from the speakers in a torrent of impassioned singing,
furiously strummed acoustic guitar, and an almost overwhelming cascade of lyrical limages. The guitar seems on the verge
of spinning out of control. His voice is almost at a shout. The words fly past, no time to linger, no time to be sure you heard them right, you're swept along a current, on to the next line. Yet, as you get used to Blake's on-the-edge-of-chaos performace style; somehow the images accumulate in the mind, and his poetry takes hold. His writing is like a verbal collage, evocative, and multi-layered, painting vivid urban scenes and portraits of characters whose vulnerability and confession are touchingly, uncomfortably familiar, particularly on "Our Purest Blindest Years" and "Leave this City."

Each of the first few songs is faster and more urgent than the last, and then he suddenly (and wisely) downshifts into a slower gear, exploring new textures that refresh our ears and renew our interest. His roots are firmly in the folksinger tradition, both musically and spiritually, but he carves out a nitch all his own with a level of sheer energy and raw, stripped-down style that sometimes borders on punk. He performs here solo, just voice and guitar, and the recording has an appealing lo-fi quality that suits the music well. Other highlights are "Joy-ful Noise," and "Sweet Dark Night." A unique, fascinating album.

After listening to this you may want to run around breaking bottles against damp sidwalks for the please of the shatter and the glitter.