Last Night

by

His Name Is Alive

Edit

I must admit that after the pop-collage technique of the first few albums (which nested so well with the rest of the 4AD roster), I was not expecting HNIA to become a soul/R&B band. I was used to the music taking wierd twists (and in fact this and SDMBWCTE are just extended examples of that), but this move was unprecedented in the HNIA canon. It alienated a lot of...fans?

When listened to on its own merits, Last Night is damn good. The title track measures favorably against similar work by Erykah Badu or Angie Stone -- though it's a more restrained groove. Lovetta Pippin's vocals are in fine form, especially considering this is purportedly a "rehearsal" record for the tour they were about to embark on. And Defever's Neil Young-esque guitar line from "I Have Special Powers" manages to be both wiry and laid back simultaneously.

If there is any single overarching characteristic to the album, it's the presence of interesting, soulful polyrhythms. The songs are exquisitely detailed. Last Night is unfairly criticized for frustrating fan expectations, when in fact it's one of the best albums of its style that came out in the 90s.

LAST NIGHT, the latest album by His Name Is Alive, the project of Livonia, MI musician Warn Defever, continues in the R&B style of early efforts, while mixing in a lot of 70's jazz influences. Hastily recorded over a couple of weeks in the summer of 2001, it features a much freer sound than previous HNIA albums.

I found the album quite disappointing. While some feel that Defever's foray into an R&B-inflected sound is alienating, I enjoyed the change of pace on 2000's WHEN THE STARS REFUSE TO SHINE and 2001's SOMEDAY MY BLUES WILL COVER THE EARTH. The vocals by Lovetta Pippen are skillfully done, with a sultry tone that had never been heard before in HNIA's music. But for me, LAST NIGHT fails not because of its style, but simply because there is little sign of creative control by Warn. While earlier HNIA albums were written entirely by Defever, with him holding a high degree of control over the performances of his musicians, on this album Warn lets his band cut loose and do whatever they want. As a result, I feel like I'm listening to something very low in quality, insteading of the crazy genius that was a hallmark of earlier HNIA efforts. Unsurprisingly, the best songs are those in which the music is provided by mostly just Warn, such as "Maybe" and "Train". Furthermore, the artwork of the album, by acclaimed British design firm v23, is lackluster and predictable. In order to make the album congruent with other recent 4AD releases, v23 chose to package it in a digipack with dull and occasionally obnoxious artwork.

With such poor sound and artwork, I cannot help but feel that LAST NIGHT is a failure of an album that should be avoided by all except collectors of His Name Is Alive's releases.