Brendan Blake – Zipline Series No.4 (Album Review)

Hey, get your keys. We are going.

Where to?

I don’t know yet.

These were the first thoughts that crossed my mind as soon as I heard the new Brendan Blake’s Zipline Series No.4

The Irish Musician Brendan Blake, who currently lives in Western Australia, has finally debuted with his first project that is clearly inspired by dance hall, EDM & house music. Brendan’s ability to create a new and exciting adventure has swiftly immersed me in his venture, but was it able to hold me all the way through?

Let’s take a look at what it is;

From the beginning, when we start listening to the record, we are immediately into the story of Blake’s adventure.

The first time I turned up the record, I was biking around my city and seeking some sort of inspiration, and truthfully, this is what this album is for. It is a long ride where you start from the more or less common ground just to be elevated into the eerie sound a few minutes later.

What I instantly noticed about the Zipline Series No.4 is how seamlessly it transitions from one idea to another, creating a fascinating and unique narrative for me. The album only features the music accompaniment without any lyrics, leaving the rest up to your imagination in the way you would want to imagine the environment of the soundscape.

It is not your standard record that could be divided into something more simplistic, rather; it is the experience of being around it. Whether it is the cinematic synths that will immerse you in the futuristic world or the electrifying dance loop giving you the feel of adrenaline hinting at the exuberant nightlife, both work pretty well.

For example, the particular narrative that I created in my head during the record is that we all have the same start, but we all have different endings. As even the artist himself shares:

Back in 2000, I left San Francisco after having a great two years of fun and dance, going to music clubs and gigs around the city. Then Came the first introduction to DAW’S. Now, I had a sound built in my head that could be brought to life. It has taken 10 years since then to create a series of an album.

There might have been plenty of people that were at the club that day, but this journey of the artist has led us to this exact moment, which, for me, personally captures the whole idea of the record.

During the album, you will be introduced to plenty of the ideas, and with some being exceptionally executed, such as at the initiation of the record, some closer to the middle might signal a lack of proper implementation. The sudden abruption of some pieces demonstrates a certain lack of structure within the record and seldom resembles the raw pieces that were blended together.

I truly liked what Brendan did in the first part when the dynamic EDM took over the melodic and more classy jazz house sound, which is set to be further developed into a bizarre and spacey sound bolstered by illuminating synths.

Despite the great presentation of Blake’s ideas, sometimes it may become too monotonous. Blake frequently uses one melody as the base of the sound to build up on it, but occasionally, it feels like the build-up was either too early or too late.

Blake’s motives are primarily showcased within the span of 20 minutes, highlighting his exceptional use of synths and blending of house and EDM genres with a subtle touch of psychedelia. However, after the 20-minute mark, it starts to get slightly repetitive and blurry in terms of where the author wants to go.

The clear lack of structure from track to track is quite evident, and despite the outstanding implementation on the first third of the record, Brendan starts repeating himself unintentionally.

I found Blake’s ventures to use the jazz influence in house music to be the most ambitious, as they add another layer to an already multidimensional sound. However, the problem is that these start to feel too prolonged.

Whereas at first, the mysterious and futuristic atmosphere added certain ambiguity to it, after a while, the path of the record began to become much more predictable.

I must say, I enjoy the overall soundscape of the album, and the feelings that it has evoked within me, but I am quite doubtful about the record’s re-playability and length.

Zipline series No.4 doesn’t feel like one certain unit. It is a mix of ideas that all got together into the same environment, with each one trying to prove that it is better than the other one.

Whether it is a more laid-back atmosphere or more striking, it is simply a matter of time before one is replaced by another. With a quiet stretched-out run time, the record cannot let multiple ideas shine as brightly as one.

Score/Good: Overall, I relived an interesting experience with a record. It wasn’t a mind-blowing reinvention of my view of electronic music, but it certainly evoked some positive emotions in me. I personally think that the record would have been better if it were shortened by half of its runtime. This way, it could have included most of the captivating soundscapes while avoiding excessive repetition, making it more enjoyable to replay. So, if you are looking for a record to accompany a long drive or a late-night brainstorming session, Zipline Series No.4 could be a perfect choice for that.

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