blackleatherbookshelf | Mar. 23rd, 2013

Hungover Heroes
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Like the willfully annoying cover art, David Bowie continues confounding his audience with his first album in 10 years. "The Next Day" finds the former recluse coming out with a bang, teasing with samples from his storied past. There are touches of "Heroes" here, along with "Station To Station" and a few of the stronger moments of the underrated "Hours." And he can't seem to stay away from the space thing, with the best song on the album being the mesmerizing "The Stars Are Out Tonight."

Or, for that matter, the minor odyssey of "Dancing in Outer Space." Which is one of the songs he actually sings on. Many of the songs are barked in a staccato fire method, including the blasting opener of the title song. Bowie is not edging into is older years quietly, but still challenging his own work. The anger in the war protest "I'd Rather Be High" contrasts to the weird doo-wop of "How Does The Grass Grow?" Finally, there's the mysterious closer, "Heat," which floats on a muted guitar and ominous cushion of electronics as Bowie murmurs a lyric whose odd reveal is "My father ran the prison" and "I tell myself I don't know who I am." Musical chameleon that he's always been, David Bowie is still, pushing 70, happy to play around with the perception of who we think he is.

As for the bonus tracks, the instrumental "Plan" is a dud. Why "So She" missed the cut is odd, as it has one of the prettier melodies on "The Next Day." The same speculation could be applied to "I'll Take You There," which rocks more than most of the album. You might as well buy the deluxe version as two of the three bonus cuts rival anything on the proper disc.