Dev Hynes has gone through many phases in his career. Whether it’s his time in the noise-punk band Test Icicles or the folk-inspired twang of his two albums as Lightspeed Champion, Dev Hynes is able to dive into any genre and make it his own. His most popular project is the neo-soul-drenched rock albums he’s been releasing under Blood Orange. Starting in 2011 with his critically acclaimed Coastal Grooves album, Hynes has built a reputation as one of the modern days of being one of the most diverse and multi-dimensional guitar players. After a short 3-year break Hynes returns as Blood Orange for a short EP, Four Songs is a quick reminder from the guitarist that he is a master of tone and even in just four songs, can build a sonic world that bounces from one tempo to another seamlessly.
The EP starts out on a hectic note, distortion rings as soon as you press play. This wall of sound soon subsides into an up-tempo dance track, the fast-paced drums are soon complimented by lush guitar chords. Hynes’ signature falsetto creeps in, somehow all of these different tempos from different elements come together beautifully to create a futuristic soundscape. This is the magic of Hynes, he’s able to draw on his eclectic past and melt the sound of all those former pseudonyms into one, creating otherworldly textures in his releases. “Jesus Freak Lighter” does an amazing job of setting the tone for the following three songs on the album.
The third track on Four Songs, “Wish”, is another amazing stand-out. It’s more minimalistic than the others but still has so much personality to unpack. The whooshing sonics that drives the instrumental emulate a waterfall while the little smattering of guitar chords add the extra push to keep this track from being too ambient. This song feels like a practice in texture for Hynes, he created an instrumental that featured very few layers but still sounded so full, which isn’t uncommon for the artist but on “Wish”, he becomes more experimental with the placement of these elements. It pays off in a big way and creates a certain tone that sticks with you listen after listen.
Four Songs by Blood Orange is a great welcome-back present for long-time fans of the guitarist. The short yet efficient project gives us a hint as to where Hynes is going creatively, he’s experimenting with different song structures and vocal tones to create a more atmospheric sound. With just over a 10-minute run time, we can only hope we hear more from Blood Orange soon.
