Savages & Bo Ningen - 'Words To The Blind'

3/10

After the news first broke that we would be treated to a collaboration album from both Savages and Bo Ningen, I think the overambitious excitement was justified. However, it was quickly noted that this was going to be an experimental coming together of these two forward-thinking bands. The album 'Words To The Blind' features just one 37-minute long track, initially described as a "a simultaneous sonic poem", and if that doesn't interest you to give it a little, I don't know what will.

However, the collaboration does pose some very obvious questions, mainly, why is it a collaboration? The material is so far separated from either of these two chosen styles that you cannot tell who is responsible for any of it. Meaning it could have been produced by either band on their own. And while the attempt at making this record into a progressive odyssey was clearly the intent, its sheer repetition and lack of imagination leaves it feeling incomplete and without soul. Essentially this could have just been a jam session that went a little off the rails and we would be none the wiser.

I don't think it will appeal to fans of either band, because it doesn't contain any of the feel or flavour these two have produced in the past. It's a damp squib of a record that shouldn't be contributed to either band's catalogue.

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