David Sylvian – Dead Bees On A Cake (1999)

This was Sylvian's first solo album for 12 years, which followed some abortive collaborations with Ryuchi Sakamoto. I have it in my head that I bought this in a second hand CD shop in Belgium, although that may be an entirely fabricated memory.

The album opens with the lovely, languid, but possibly overlong I Surrender (the last thing of Sylvian's to trouble the Top 40 singles chart), followed by the brief Dobro #1, a short song with just Sylvian and Bill Frisell on dobro, definitely having a feel of some of the improvisations which would follow on Blemish.

Midnight Sun is a bluesy groove, with some John Lee Hooker samples and a fine Sakamoto arranged, brass accompaniment leading us to the similar feel of Thalheim, Sylvian's voice gently taking us along with the help of Kenny Wheeler's flugelhorn. God Man is a much more funky track, with some Mark Ribot guitar, which will be familiar to Tom Waits aficionados, but Alphabet Angel doesn't really feel coherent, like an unfinished sketch.

Krishna Blue is a longer track with a very Eastern feel (Talvin Singh on tabla, Deepak Ram on Bansuri), again, a good idea which overstays its welcome, and it's followed by The Shining Of Things, a simple strings and vocals ballad which works very well, leading to the lovely, gentle Cafe Europa. Pollen Path is a very percussive piece, which feels directionless, as does the more interesting, almost-free jazz piece (underpinned by Singh's percussion), All Of My Mother's Names.

To finish the experience, we have, bookending Shree Mat singing the devotional Praise, the laidback Wanderlust, and the gorgeous Darkest Dreaming, a lullaby ending to a great album.

There's a lot more experimentation with style than on the previous album over a decade ago, most of it successful, but some not quite hitting the mark. Nevertheless, it's a fantastic album, a gentle listen which doesn't assault the listener.

Link to album tracks

4* - a bold album, with so much to enjoy