BLACKFIELD II

"Blackfield II" is the second full-length studio album by UK/Israeli rock act Blackfield. The album was released through Snapper Records (Europe) and Atlantic Records/We Put Out Records (US) in February 2007. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album which was released in February 2004. Blackfield is the project featuring English musician Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, solo, Bass Communion, No-Man...etc.) and the Israelian rock musician Aviv Geffen. The project was founded in 2001 after Geffen had invited Porcupine Tree to play shows in Israel. The two musicians found common ground in wanting to create a project focused on releasing melancholic pop/rock songs.

Stylistically the material on "Blackfield II" is a continuation of the melancholic vers/chorus structured pop/rock direction of the debut album. It´s actually a bit too similar in style and it´s like the band haven´t evolved one bit since the last release. It´s not a huge issue since the quality of the material is generally very high and both Geffen and Wilson are skilled and seasoned musicians who know how to construct an effectful melancholic pop/rock tune, but a bit more variation between the first and the second album would have been appreciated.

With that said this is still beautiful and gorgeous melancholy of the highest order (those synth-washes and Beatlesque vocal harmonies...very nice), and and fans of the most simple vers/chrous structured Porcupine Tree songs are the main audience here. "Blackfield II" is well produced, well performed, and within the boundaries of the vers/chorus format also well composed. So while a bit more innovation of sound would have been appreciated, a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved.