AllMusic Staff Pick:
Neneh Cherry
Blank Project
Compared to Cherry’s three earlier solo albums, the last of which was released in 1996, this is from another dimension. It’s in line with her post-punk roots in the Slits, Rip Rig & Panic, New Age Steppers, and Float Up CP and, to a lesser extent, her 2000s output with family affair cirKus. The album begins with Cherry in a state of grief, and the mood from there hardly lifts through stark pieces full of hurtling drums and protrusive synthesizers topped by Cherry’s baleful and agitated words, sometimes delivered with contrasting sweetness. From front to back, it’s riveting uneasy listening.
- Andy Kellman