For his first album since "Dead Bees On A Cake" Sylvian had his audience waiting for nearly four years. Taking advantage of the break in a project pursued with his brother, Steve Jansen, the artist retreated to his studio. The press referred to "Blemish" (the outcome of those solitary sessions released by Samadhi Sound - Sylvian's own record label) as a set of pieces for voice, guitar and electronic instruments.

These songs, however, are very distant from the smooth, subtle sound of tracks like "Cafe Europa" or "Damage", quite remote from the sonic richness of their intricate layers. The contrast is so drastic that the first listening must result in a shock. It was the first time that Sylvian presented music so difficult, so minimalist and raw. His characteristic voice, this time in torment, reveals the wounds left by disintegration of his last relationship, clearly marked on an uneasy background of electronic patches. The intimate atmosphere of "Blemish" is most vividly conveyed through the title track with both musically and lyrically can be treated as sliding across a surface covered with fissures.

All the tracks originate from improvised sessions whose experimental nature is marvellously exposed in "The Good Son" or "She Is Not". Sylvian is, however, much more convincing in pieces of more clearly defined structure like "The Only Daughter" and "Late Night Shopping". And above all, the last one, saturated with harsh and yet somewhat soothing electronic treatments by Christian Fennesz. "A Fire In The Forest" is a track of such an unspeakable beauty that, without any hesitation, it can be placed along such treasures as "Darkest Dreaming" - the composition closing Sylvian's "Dead Bees On A Cake". Even if the remaining tracks will require time and effort on the part of the listener, that final track will immediately loop in the CD player... "There is always sunshine above the grey sky/ I will try to find it/ Yes I will try..."

Teraz Rock, August 2003



P.S. The Japanese edition of "Blemish" includes "Trauma" - an instrumental track quite similar to the title track, which for a moment was secretly stored in the "downloads" folder on David's official website as "Trauma Theropy" (sic). However, it was never officially available to the public.




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