Blawan – aka Jamie Roberts – has released his highly anticipated new album SickElixir via XL Recordings.
Universal Critical Acclaim
At its core, SickElixir operates in that tension between order and collapse. Pitchfork describes how “gnarled grooves and unintelligible vocals intersect at uncanny angles,” pushing his distinct pugnacious style into something more visceral and untethered. The Guardian concurs, calling it “a headlong dive into a troubled mind working overtime,” and warns that “it isn’t a journey you might want to undertake on a nightly basis. That said, it’s a journey worth taking.”
Over at The Wire, the review picks out moments of haunted beauty: “his whispery delivery on ‘Sonkind’ over buzzsaw synths evokes Nine Inch Nails, and Monstera Black’s sweetly resigned vocals on ‘Rabbit Hole’ hit like a lullaby in an abattoir simulator.” Metacritic
But SickElixir is no one-trick shock tactic. Critics note that it’s his “most challenging listen” yet, but that within that difficulty lies fascination.
The Quietus frames it metaphorically: “the sound of technology having long widened the disparity between the ruthlessly wealthy and those clinging on by the half moons of their brittle fingernails. … Blawan has provided the perfect soundtrack for us to writhe about to, like maggots in the dark.” Metacritic
The Fader, meanwhile, calls the record “grotesque, gorgeous dance music”, “unmistakable dancefloor fillers” that mutate melody into near-noise and render even occasional harmonic passages strangely tender.
Critics Ratings
Resident Advisor 90/100
Pitchfork 80/100
The Guardian 80/100
The Quietus 80/100
The Wire 80/100
AllMusic 70/100
Blawan
SickElixir
Tracklisting
- The GL Lights
- NOS
- Weirdos United
- Rabbit Hole
- WTF
- Casch
- Birf Song
- During Elevation
- Don’t Worry We Happy
- Style Teef
- Sonkind
- TCP Burn
- Creature Brigade
- SickElixir
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