BLUE is a bold step in the right direction - accessible without losing a sense of innovation, alien but not alienating. Jonna Lee and Claes Björklund have created a record that they hope will stand the test of time and whilst it remains to be seen if that is the case, BLUE is a beautiful, engaging record that entertains as much as it inspires.
Ten months ago, a video appeared on YouTube which marked a new era for iamamiwhoami. ‘Fountain’ was the beginning of something that seemed to be beyond description. Now, after the appearance of six more videos, an album has been released from the Swedish audiovisual maestra, iamamiwhoami.
iamamiwhoami have always been a project that favours a cloak of dark, slightly macabre mystery over any other costume. This latest release sees Jonna Lee increasingly stepping out of the shadows into lighter, more uplifting territory. ‘BLUE’s watery explorations demonstrate an intriguing new facet to the project, but it might well come at the expense of the fearsome impact that earlier releases packed in the shedload.
Whether all this is an attempt to nudge towards the mainstream, or a purely artistic decision (likely to be the latter given the integrity demonstrated so far by Lee), the result is the same: a perplexing tendency towards vapidity. The worrying conclusion is that, just like her performance in the videos, she may be treading water with this project.
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That’s the beauty of iamamiwhoami, as it has been from the start. They keep us guessing, and nothing feels contrived. Synth-pop and alternative dance are expertly melded around Lee’s effortless choruses, and Blue feels like the first indication of iamamiwhoami showing us exactly who they are.
In its own way, this album might be Lee and Björklund's most balanced and unified work yet; it's certainly a confident journey into uncharted waters for the duo.
the result is the same: a perplexing tendency towards vapidity. The worrying conclusion is that, just like her performance in the videos, she may be treading water with this project.
