release date: Oct. 6, 2017
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Justin Harris
label: BMG - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 2. "Streets Been Talkin' " - 3. "You Keep on Whispering His Name" - 5. "Grounds for Resentment (feat. Olly Alexander)" - 7. "Do U Right" - 8. "Versions of Us (feat. Corinne Bailey Rae)" - 9. "Portrait" - 13. "Royal Reign"
3rd solo studio album by Kele Okereke following Trick from 2014. Since then, and together with Bloc Party they released Hymns in 2016. By the way: the album producer here is new multi-instrumentalist of Bloc Party.
Fatherland is the first time Kele releases music using some of his surname, and it's also a profoundly different album compared to his previous releases. Before Kele released any music as a solo artist, Bloc Party had flirted with the dance genre and Kele then went a step further onto that scene with his two previous solo albums and on several EPs, but Fatherland is something else, as it exclusively contains folk-inspired, singer / songwriter, and vocal jazz compositions arranged using acoustic guitar, piano, and wind instruments [!].
Generally, the album received positive reviews, however, without leading to great sales numbers. Perhaps his previous release with its relatively low placement ticking in at No. #99 on the albums chart list prompted for a change in style? In comparison, his debut fared better reaching a position as No. #20. Who knows, in any case this is such a style-shift and a completely different release, on which Kele does his best as a genuine folk singer. If you are able to forget about his earlier uptempo and dance-friendly melodies, Fatherland has its own qualities without sounding particularly original for that matter, and this latter sensation is probably my biggest complaint about the album.
Not really great and not all bad either.
[ allmusic.com, Clash, Drowned in Sound 3,5 / 5, The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]
