Black Blondie - Do You Remember Who You Wanted To Be (2009)

Black Blondie is one of Minnesota’s most unique R&B acts. They take the classic rhythm and blues sound you would find on such revisits as Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black and steep it in a cauldron of eerie trip-hop. The result is ethereal, dark and haunting.

Black Blondie is a quartet made up of Rhodes, keys, and synthesizer player Tasha Baron, electric and stand up bass player Liz Draper, drummer Kahlil Brewington, and Samahra Daly whose vocals are reminiscent of Motown’s great female singers. The band fuses psychedelic elements to jazz riffs and tempo changes, as Samahra uses her bouncy vocal range to call out in desperation and, at times, depression. There is a timeless quality to the mix that makes the music sound classic and new at the same time. Deep and tragic.

The album begins with Hunger in minor keys with samples of water trickling in the background. This is juxtaposed with xylophone jingles that shimmer like beams of light descending from a thunderous cloud. “Get paid a few benjamins to let him cook crack in your kitchen”, Samahra sings. This is gritty material.

With the second track World Won’t Rest we are led by Tasha’s keys down a shadowy hallway where the ghostly vocals echo, “I wear a blood red dress, freshly wet”. It is here Tasha shines, holding the listener in wicked wonderment that is both delicate and atmospheric.

The CD has glimpses of cheerful bliss like those found on Bye Polar Bear, which has a pop element to it. But even this song doesn’t stray too far from unusual timbres and psychedelic concoctions. The following tune Dressed to Kill a Mockingbird pulls us back into the doped up & dubbed out caverns of Black Blondie psychosis.

A couple of tracks later and we are in over our heads with Knife Fights and Xmas Lights, a standout single from the disc. This song exemplifies Black Blondie’s musical magic and shows how this band is so different than other R&B artists. It is dark and passionate, deep and layered. And in the background Liz Draper brings her bow to the stand up bass adding strung out emotive warmth as the music begins to scream.

The CD has a couple of notable contributions from local rapper Muja Messiah and Roma di Luna’s Channy Moon Casselle. The latter being my favorite; Channy’s vocal accompaniment on Candy Cigarrettes pairs up wonderfully with Samarha’s. Their voices winding and intertwining over each other like vines overtaking a black cast iron gate.

In the neighborhood of R&B, Black Blondie is the large darkly colored Victorian house at the end of the block. The one the kids think is haunted. Beware!