Willis Earl Beal - Experiments in Time

Willis Earl Beal
Experiments in Time
8 August 2014
self-released

5 stars out of 5

 

Experiments in Time is the third full-length by Willis Earl Beal, and his first self-released LP since leaving XL Recordings. Long gone is the lo-fi acoustic aesthetic of 2012’s Acousmatic Sorcery, as is the polished, more traditional(-ish) R&B sound of last year’s Nobody knows. Today Beal offers us an almost beatless album of freeform soul-infused blues, a record that is both riveting and unique.

Beal’s vocals take center stage on Experiments in Time—there’s no beats, not even the most rudimentary time keeping (with the exception of “Waste It Away” and “Slow Bus”), to distract the listener. The majority of the music is comprised of slow, subtle keyboard swells, very rarely augmented by quiet, distant electric guitar (“Monotony,” “Traveling Eyes”) or electric bass (“Heads or Tails”). These are deeply felt hymns, a sort of gospel of angst and sorrow, directed not to God but against the monolith of consumer capitalism. If you’ve ever wanted a record that occupies the intersection of Gregorian chants and desolate blues, drawing its lyrical inspiration from the existential howls of Sartre and Camus (filtered through Tom Waits and Bob Dylan), look no further.

It’s easy to get distracted by Beal’s back story—homeless, almost insane man gets record deal and does duet with Cat Power—but this is really doing a disservice to his music. Do yourself a favour and ignore everything that’s been written about him, including this review, and listen to Experiments in Time without preconceptions. What you’ll hear is a work without many peers or precedents, undefiled by label expectations, genre clichés, or market considerations.

reviewed by Richard Krueger