Boris Carloff - The Escapist

by Lisa Torem

published: 29 / 4 / 2013

Label: Die Arbeit
Format: CD

Eerie, but seductive debut solo album from already internationally-acclaimed Czech composer/producer/singer, Boris Carloff

Review

On his debut solo CD, 'The Escapist', Czech composer/producer/singer Boris Carloff, winner of the Best Video Grammy in the Czech Republic (for ‘Falling’) and a jazz-influenced, electronica maverick, truly spreads his artistic wings and expands his range of production skills. With the talents of drummer, Doug Yowell (Lana Del Ray, Suzanne Vega) and guest vocalist Ghetto Priest (formerly of Asian Dub Foundation), Carloff’s original music takes us somewhere eerie, seductive, beguiling and redemptive. The introspective lyrics complement the lush industrial sounds to a tee and the burning premise – he wrote the album in response to the death of both his brother and father in the last two years – is well realised. The CD opens with ‘Shadows’. “I’m hunting all the shadows like my enemies,” he reveals in this hybrid of mysterious sound bytes, which like warm currents underscore Carloff’s demonstrative vocals. ‘In My Lonely Room’ features Ghetto Priest. While the other nine tracks were written solely by Carloff, this one was a co-write with Ghetto Priest and Alan Jackson. The arrangement highlights Carloff’s sensitive vocal intelligence; this track is one of the most melodic of the collection and Ghetto Priest’s vocal contribution brings this ballad to an even higher level. The aforementioned ‘Falling’ is awash with intense but undulating harmonies. “I want to find you holding breath for daylight,” he sings with poetic force. His vocal line is greatly enhanced by the resounding backing vocals. ‘I Have Got One Soul’ is a striking contrast to the previous tracks because of the presence of a synth and a rather ancient-sounding keyboard. ‘For These Days’ simmers in more soul-searching symmetry and bright splashes of harp. Carloff’s voice is at its most gorgeous in ‘The Mist,’ where it is underscored by Asiatic tonalities and on ‘Take Me Higher,’ when he sings, “Take my soul if you want to/I can give it back”. On the latter his dare is draped in sexy ambience. ‘To Each of You’ finds the composer quickening the pulse in an otherwise slo-mo collection. The closing track, ‘Hidden in the Sky’ doesn’t deviate from the musical format, but contains elegant images of angels, oceans, islands and sky. What’s next for internationally-acclaimed Boris Carloff is anybody’s guess, but it’s bound to be a project seething with creativity and warmth.

Track Listing:-

1 Shadows
2 In My Lonely Room
3 Falling
4 I Have Got One Soul
5 For These Days
6 The Mist
7 Take Me Higher
8 In Circles
9 To Each of You
10 Hidden in the Sky