Blackfield’s third album is the one where the partnership tilted. Steven Wilson had disappeared into his first solo record, so the work of this one fell to Aviv Geffen, who wrote nearly all of it and shaped it into something closer to a personal statement than a band record. The title is his: two men, Hemel Hempstead and Tel Aviv, carrying the same sadness in their makeup. Released in 2011 on Kscope and recorded across studios in England and Tel Aviv, it is also the first Blackfield album built with a real orchestra, which gives these songs a slower, heavier gravity than the duo’s earlier work. None of it charted; that was never the point. It moves through quiet, melodic gloom toward the closing title track, where the whole record finally tells you what it has been about. Play it in order.
Worth knowing
This is the album where one half quietly took the wheel. Aviv Geffen wrote nearly every track while Steven Wilson was away making his first solo record, and named the whole thing after his own closing song. The title is the announcement.
Tracklist
1 of 11 coveredThe songs we’ve dived into are lit in gold, tap to read. The rest are here for the full picture.
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