Devonte Hynes is nothing if not prolific. Having caused a right old racket with indie-rockers Test Icicles, the American-born, British-raised, artist morphed into the alt-folky Lightspeed Champion. Not content with the cult appeal of both acts, the 25-year-old ditched the Lightspeed persona and penned a load of massive hits for people like Florence + The Machine, Solange Knowles and, um, Diana Vickers. Well, someone had to. But forget all that. It doesn’t matter. Hynes is now Blood Orange and has released the album ‘Coastal Grooves’.
The clue is in the title. No, Hynes hasn’t done a Martin Hannett and taken to wandering around some windswept cliffs with a boom mic recording seagulls, but has instead made a groove-led record, one which, for the most part, sways seductively with sultry rhythms.
But, in keeping with Hynes’ musicianship, on top of these lusty grooves there is some beautiful guitar work, giving them as much character as the beats. The noir mystery of ‘Can We Go Inside Now’ is decorated with some shimmering Oriental melodies, as is ‘The Complete Knock’. Elsewhere, ‘Are You Sure You’re Really Busy’ ends with a guitar odyssey and is as close to an epic as there is on the album.
If sparse Orientalism is one point of reference, then Prince is another. Hynes’ occasionally manic vocals in previous incarnations have been replaced with an emotive delivery redolent of He Who Likes Purple. Hynes puts this down to writing for predominantly female acts and having to acknowledge the female register, and he’s at his most regal on ‘Instantly Blank (The Goodness)’, playfully delivering lines over an echoed, cavernous ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ era strut.
The confident rhythms on ‘Coastal Grooves’ often deflect attention away from the occasional desperate air of the lyrics, but the inclusive, pop-oriented nature of the album Hynes has created is one which is as worthy of radio-waves as much as the indie dance-floor. It’s another refreshing move in the career of an artist who simply won’t rest on his laurels.
-Jack Prescott-
