Bringing a ten-year hiatus to an end, Bowie comes back with an album that is immediately jarring because of it's cover. A flat panel obscures the image of one of Bowie's most famous past albums, "Heroes" in an effort, I assume, to discredit the past in some way. By specifically addressing "Heroes", he is saying: "Don't compare this to 'Heroes.'" I probably will anyway, but fuck it.
The opening title track is good enough as some kind of Bowie's version of religious allegory, but it pales in comparison to track two. "Dirty Boys" is a slow, horned soaked march that would not be out of place on Tom Waits' last album. Skipping over the next track about celebrity culture (which I don't relate to at all) comes another Waits-inspired fat backbeat rhythm in the track "Love Is Lost".
And with 14 tracks, it's probably going to be like that. You'll find yourself skipping over the nice, but safe and unnecessary tracks like "Valentine's Day" in favor of the adventurous "If You Can See Me". Having said that, the final three tracks prove to be stand-outs of the collection. "(You Will) Set the World On Fire" is a Jack-White-like guitar riffer about achieving your dreams. And "Heat" as the closer is a perfectly dark frightening David Lynch soundtrack piece.
Bowie picked up where he left off ten years ago, which was middle of the road stylish pop-rock- and expanded on it. The forgetful elements of The Next Day are what feel to be just continuation of Reality. But the jazzier, more adventurous efforts are what will keep the audience excited about a quiet legend. (4 of 5 stars)
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