Ben Harper - Bloodline Maintenance (CD)

Ben Harper - Bloodline Maintenance (CD) Ben Harper’s new album, ‘Bloodline Maintenance’, is a fearless and immensely soulful work, largely inspired by the loss of a long time friend and the lingering influence of a mercurial and charismatic father. Bloodline Maintenance is both a political and personally revealing work. It is soul music, but never a stylistic tribute to some bygone era. The sound and words are essential and undeniably timely. Tracks like the propulsive “Where Did We Go Wrong” and the guitar-fueled “It Ain’t No Use” are infectious bursts of modernized R&B, with Harper’s voice and musicality at the peak of their considerable powers. But taken as a whole, titles like “We Need to Talk About It,” “Where Did We Go Wrong,” and “Ain’t No Use” offer a more profound social commentary. It is a narrative that culminates with the heart-rending track “Maybe I Can’t,” with Harper delivering the refrain, “Some memories I plant in the garden, others scattered never to grow, maybe I can't let go.” It is a powerful musical reckoning. Harper acknowledges that much of the exploration on the record was fuelled by an awareness of time. “It’s this notion of mortality and the people we have lost. The way I hoped it would all turn out and the realization that, as beautiful as it all can be, perhaps none of it matters beyond these moments.” TRACKLISTING 1. Below Sea Level 2. We Need To Talk About It 3. Where Did We Go Wrong 4. Problem Child 5. Need To Know Basis 6. It Ain’t No Use 7. More Than Love 8. Smile at the Mention 9. Honey, Honey 10. Knew The Day Was Comin’ 11. Maybe I Can’t