Album Review: B.Lewis – Finding Incandescence

In just over six months into 2013, the year is already proving fruitful with up-and-coming artists and producers releasing debut albums and highly anticipated sophomore ones. We’ve already seen success with producers like Mister Lies, Nosaj Thing, Tall Black Guy, James Blake, and Giraffage with their developed, well-crafted albums. With buzz surrounding albums on the horizon (or recently released) this year by Disclosure, Mount Kimbie, shortcircles, Baths, Sango, and Zomby, B.Lewis slipped under the radar with the release of his own debut album titled Finding Incandescence.

In contrast to previous productions by B.Lewis, this LP showcases his prowess with genre hopping to the nth degree. He traverses through pop tracks like ‘What I’ve Done’ and ‘Twelve Fourteen’ to absolute bangers like ‘Dadum’ and ‘Rise Down,’ but with his roots still firmly ingrained in experimental hip-hop. His dirty synths coupled with aggressively clean drum beats help thread together what could even make a substantial DJ set.

His opening track serves as a backstory of his music production, aptly titled ‘Lewis Story.’ It’s reminiscent of his Plug EP in his use of synths and overall mood. He transitions seamlessly into ‘My Reigns,’ moving the LP into a mixtape direction rather than one with distinctive tracks. However, this track introduces and marks the decisive change B.Lewis decided to make in his production style – the title itself gives this away. It continues the raw, unpolished sound, which is a trademark of B.Lewis’ warmer style.

The layering of samples, synth lines, drum beats, and claps begins to play up in ‘Back to Back.’ He moves into a Latin-driven beat making the aesthetic sexier and dancier. The gradual building of high to higher energy tracks develops so smoothly that a clear mind shift doesn’t seem to consciously take place. B.Lewis pulls back from this fairly abruptly with ‘Slow for You,’ which serves as the first break for the LP. The R&B vocalist lends to the added sensuality of the slower beats and delayed hi-hats before the rapper builds up the ending to the song with one final croon to curb it out.

Distorted vocal samples and bubbling synths change the flow of the LP in ‘One Last Run’ by revisiting older production styles intertwined with contemporary R&B beats. B.Lewis takes the vocal samples and makes them higher-pitched, keeping with the style of current experimental hip-hop. With the ending of ‘One Last Run,’ B.Lewis flirts with poppier sounds and switches gears into an upbeat sound in ‘What I’ve Done.’ This track is the definitive switch into his dance-heavy, floor-thumping beats. It’s a build-up track, one that takes on the role of escalating the album into body rolls and sweaty nights.

This is marked by the lack of a distinct ending for the track and goes straight into a heavier sound with ‘Bang,’ which possesses an overwhelming quality to it. It’s intense and makes you want to jump around and bang fists on a table in glorious frustration. ‘Bang’ has a myriad of influences and elements to it, with nods to TNGHT, Ta-ku, and Sango to name a few.

After a brief breather with ‘You Can Blame Us,’ B.Lewis goes into one of his standout tracks from Finding Incandescence titled ‘Dadum.’ He samples vocals from M.I.A.’s ‘Bucky Done Gun’ and reworks the sample to create a solid dance track. The aggressive laser synths at the beginning and a stomach vibrating bass line makes for a fast favorite in sets and an absolute gem for summer playlists.

He keeps up the dance floor driven beats in ‘First Words Past Midnight,’ which is wonderfully dirty in every possible way. It’s darker than the other tracks on the LP bringing in a richer and diversified sound to the overall construct of the album. It manages to keep interest and B.Lewis shows how adept he is at understanding what ears want to hear and the ebb and flow of attention spans.

B.Lewis goes into an 80’s style synth scheme in ‘Twelve Fourteen,’ very similar to synths heard in the Drive soundtrack, and incorporates hip-hop and a poppier rock element to give it a fresh sound. Fans of M83’s Hurry Up We’re Dreaming may also find some qualities in this track befitting their tastes. He begins to close out the set (sorry, LP) with ‘Black Sugar’ and ‘Heard Her Play It,’ which happens to be one of the most experimental tracks off of the album. ‘Heard Her Play It’ was particularly interesting in how it blends a variety of genres together (hip-hop, jazz, pop, garage, and glitch-hop to name a few) and completely changes them to create a lush dreamscape.

‘Rise Down’ is one of my favorites from the entire LP, and may even be one of my favorite B.Lewis tracks, ever (after his Flying Lotus remix, ‘Choice Two: Leave’). This is (another) experimental hip-hop/dance tracks that is an absolute banger. It’s surprising he left it near the end of the album because of how brilliant the production is on it, which is typically showcased in the middle portion of an album. Fans of old B.Lewis may not take well to it, though, because of how large and seemingly disjointed landscape of sounds ‘Rise Down’ explores.

B.Lewis leaves us with a sweet beauty of a song to close out the LP with ‘Your Distance.’ It features a back and forth between a male and female vocalist, rippling with warm synths and fond memories.

Stand out tracks for Finding Incandescence are ‘Slow For You,’ ‘Rise Down,’ ‘Dadum,’ ‘First Words Past Midnight,’ ‘Twelve Fourteen,’ and ‘Heard Her Play It.’ It’s best listened to straight through as a mixtape and pairs well with a gathering of close friends for a mini party.

Overall, B.Lewis’ debut album provides an insight into the vast changes 2013 is showing us with music. Producers are pushing themselves to put out well-crafted, well-thought out, and heavily experimental albums for listeners. Very few releases for the year are proving to be predictable for our ears – the envelope is so far from being pushed these days that it has already burst.

You can purchase Finding Incandescence from his BandCamp page found here.

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Online Editor