Hello (Blackfield) (LP 2151 - 2156)

Blackfield  Blackfield (CD, Koch Records, 2004) ****  

Blackfield  Blackfield II (CD, Atlantic/Snapper Music, 2007) *****  

Blackfield  NYC (Live In New York City) (CD plus DVD, Kscope, 2007) *****  

Blackfield  Welcome To My DNA (CD, Kscope, 2011) *** 

Blackfield  Blackfield IV (CD, Kscope, 2013) ***   

Blackfield  Blackfield V (CD, Kscope, 2017) *** 

Genre: Pop rock, art rock

Places I remember: Fopp; HMV.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pain (Blackfield)

Gear costume: My Gift Of Silence (Blackfield II); Kissed By The Devil (Blackfield IV); From 44 To 48 (Blackfield V)

Active compensatory factors: Blackfield started life as a side project for Steven Wilson in cahoots with friend Aviv Geffen. 

As it's progressed Aviv has mostly kept things going as a solo project with Steven rejoining him from time to time. 

Blackfield is definitely more poppy than progressive and as such the band has carved out its own niche in the Wilson-verse.

First album, Blackfield, sets out the stall well with some singles friendly tunes although the subject matter is a tad dour and the packaging downright depressing!

Blackfield II came out three years later. Steven dominates this one with only one lead vocal by Aviv. It's a lighter record with a lot of pop smarts. This is the album I heard first and then got hooked!

I've awarded it 5 stars because there are no duds to be found, and it's full of wonderful inspired moments, like the way the track End Of The World evolves and resolves is perfect. Great final track to a great album.

The Live in NYC set also came out in 2007. It serves as a best of collection from those first two albums with some inspired performances. No dud songs on this one either.

A bit of a change with the third studio album - Welcome To My DNA, with Steven Wilson taking a back seat (he only contributes one song). So this is more Aviv's baby.

It's good, has the Blackfield sound, but compared to Blackfield II it just misses a couple of Wilson magic moments. Similar comments for Blackfield IV and V where Wilson becomes a contributor to the album rather than a card carrying member of the band.

Geffen's vocals are good (Kissed By The Devil is excellent), but he needs Wilson's contributions to lift the sound into the stratosphere.

That's noticeable again on Blackfield V - it has some good songs, Geffen sounds more confident in his delivery and then Steven does From 44 to 48 and slays it!

Then you notice what's missing since Blackfield II.

Where do they all belong? I'll need to listen to their latest release from 2020 (For The Music). Once more, it's more of a Geffen album with Steven only on three tracks, but I'm sure it's worth searching for on Spotify.