Released: May 27
Bruce Hornsby returns with ‘‘Flicted’ – his third album in four years and one of his most adventurous yet.
Comprising 12 new recordings, the LP was born of film ‘cues’ he composed for writer and director Spike Lee, as part of their long running collaboration.
“The album title ‘‘Flicted’ relates to this strange time in which we live, when the world is basically, well, ‘flicted,” he says of the project, which explores various cultural events from the past two years – including but not limited to the pandemic – calling out injustice and leading the way for change.
Opening with Sidelines – a collaboration with Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend and Blake Mills on guitar, about hysteria in various forms, from the Salem witch trials of the 1600s to the present-day pandemic – the LP also touches on the environmental crisis (Lidar) and calls out complacency in the face on injustice (Had Enough).
Across the tracks, he builds sweeping soundscapes, from the pulsing rhythm and beats on Tag to the double punch of Maybe Now and Bucket List, both of which see him experiment with instrumentation worlds away from his early recordings.
Vocally, ‘‘Flicted’ sees Bruce in fine form, from his commanding performance on a new take on Chuck Berry’s Too Much Monkey Business – the first cover song to ever appear on one of his studio releases across his 35+ year career – to the stunning layered harmonies on Lidar.
Meanwhile, collaborations with today’s brightest stars – including Ezra and Haim vocalist Danielle Haim – are a testament to the musician’s unfaltering drive to push his sound forward and never fall back on the past.
It’s an approach that sees him pivot in numerous directions, with the various sounds and styles across ‘‘Flicted’ occasionally overshadowing the lyrical narrative, which deserves to be heard.
But what the record does so well is uniting Bruce’s dual careers – as a chart-topping pop star and long standing screen composer – for a collection that showcases his stellar musicianship and celebrates his undeniable creativity.
‘‘Flicted’ is available now.
