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Prior to the release of Lift Your Spirit retro soul man Aloe Blacc featured on the cheesy EDM country hybrid hit 'Wake Me Up' with Swedish producer Avicii, which went on achieve No.1 status in 22 countries. Lift Your Spirit is his third solo effort, but the first to be released on a major label, and it seems Aloe Blacc is longing to be a household name. With two No.1 singles in the UK ('Wake Me Up', 'The Man') the release of Lift Your Spirit looks certain to place Blacc within the realms of mainstream success but at what cost?
Lift Your Spirit is an imaginative yet uninspiring effort from Blacc that results in sounding like a complete mishap, the soulful funk-esque radio friendly pop aesthetic is almost cringe-worthy. Opening the record with an acoustic stripped back version of the aforementioned ‘Wake Me Up’ is a bizarre and derivative move for Blacc forcing us to listeners into hearing the track once again (as if we hadn’t heard it enough already) and the corny ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’-esque vibes don’t end there either. The majority of the album is all a bit too safe for my liking; the wow factor just isn’t there.
Vocally Blacc sounds flawless but the folk/soul crossover sound is too polished and the big gospel-like choruses on tracks ‘Wanna Be With You’ and ‘Can You Do This’ make it a difficult listen for those who were fans of the timeless classic ‘I Need a Dollar’ and the entire Good Things album. The cinematic ‘Here Today’ would place better on the soundtrack to the worst feel-good romcom movie, sorry Aloe.
There are a few positive moment on the record, the funky ‘Soldier in The City’ and cliché heavy R&B slow jam ‘Red Velvet Seat’ are both valiant efforts but yet again fail to deliver that cutting edge. Major label releases often deliver a manufactured, radio friendly sound and Aloe Blacc is unfortunately the latest casualty.
