Herbert

Scale

(!K7)

Record Review by Amber Henson

Let me start by saying that DJ Dynasty Handbag would love Herbert’s “Down,” from his new album, Scale.  Now that’s not to say that Kenan Thompson’s character from  Saturday Night Live wouldn’t love the whole album, it’s just that “Down” is probably the most tongue in cheek “house music” song that I’ve heard away from SNL.  “You wanna (beep), you wanna (beep), you wanna put it in my (beep),” and so forth.  I didn’t put in the beeps, that’s how the song does it, followed by plucked strings from violins.

The entirety of Scale is intriguing, a combination of pieces of Bjork and Groove Armada, and Herbert has quite outdone himself.  He did this with the help of partner Dani Siciliano, whose ethereal vocals are featured on ten of the album’s eleven tracks.  Siciliano somehow accomplished sounding like she’s singing a cappella while often having an entire orchestra backing her up.

The orchestra is, in fact, a real chamber orchestra, staying true to Herbert’s “rule” that he can’t use preset keyboard sounds or drum machines or the like.  He relaxed the rule for Scale, but mostly wound up following it—and with impressive results.  You really feel like you’re listening to something someone has put their heart and soul into, not just the results of a few hours in a basement studio.

Do not confuse this album with a dance album.  Sure, many songs will make you want to get up and shake it, including the appropriately named “The Movers and The Shakers”—the beat of which is so addictive that it will make even the most timid of listeners lose self-consciousness.  There are long breaks in this momentum, though, when Herbert retreats to just a few simple sounds, which could be made by any of the objects seen on the album cover.  His soft ballads are reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s love songs when Jacko was at his best.

In all, Herbert fans will not be disappointed by his simpler approach to Scale.  He wanted to make an “upbeat pop record”—and while the new record may not be that exactly, it is definitely something exciting and interesting to enjoy.