Music Review: 'Blackstar,' David Bowie

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Happy birthday to David Bowie. He turned 69 today. The pop icon hasn't performed in public for nearly a decade, but he's in the midst of a creative rebirth. His off-Broadway musical, "Lazarus," opened last month in New York City. And he released a new album today - "Blackstar," recorded with some of the sharpest young players in jazz. Our critic, Will Hermes, has this review.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLACKSTAR")

DAVID BOWIE: (Singing) In the villa of Ormen, in the villa of Ormen stands a solitary candle. In the center of it all, in the center of it all.

WILL HERMES, BYLINE: David Bowie likes to work between the familiar and the strange, which is one reason he makes such a compelling space alien. That's the territory of his new musical, a sequel to his 1976 film "The Man Who Fell To Earth." And it extends to his new album, which features the play's signature song.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LAZARUS")

BOWIE: (Singing) Look up here, man. I'm in danger. I've got nothing left to lose. I am so high it makes my brain whirl. Dropped my cell phone down below.

HERMES: Bowie helped pioneer the use of electronics in rock 'n roll, and he uses them extensively here. But what makes "Blackstar" radical is how human it sounds. The dazzling quartet of saxophonist Donny McCaslin defines this album. They sound like hyper-evolved cyborgs.

(SOUNDBITE OF DAVID BOWIE SONG)

HERMES: It's this mix of familiar and strange that makes "Blackstar" so rewarding. Bowie's an old guy who's digested a lot of music, and he somehow manages to transform old school R&B, modern Jazz and weird progressive rock into a single language here, one that's as visceral as it is cerebral.

(SOUNDBITE OF DAVID BOWIE SONG)

HERMES: Bowie reportedly listened a lot to Kendrick Lamar's jazz-rap fusion while making this record, and that makes sense. Like Lamar, he's upping the ante on what constitutes pop music, giving his audience some credit. It's what David Bowie has always done. And unlike the work of most of his contemporaries, it's why his work still matters.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I CAN'T GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY")

BOWIE: (Singing) I can't give everything away.

CORNISH: David Bowie's album "Blackstar" came out today. Our critic, Will Hermes, is author of the book "Love Goes To Buildings On Fire."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I CAN'T GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY")

BOWIE: (Singing) ....Away. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.