After a ten year hiatus, David Bowie’s new album takes listeners back to the 1970s. “The Next Day” is one of Bowie’s best albums yet.
Bowie’s latest album earned critical acclaim, earning four out of five stars from Rolling Stone and the New York Times. The album is one of Bowie’s fastest selling and has reached number one in the U.K. and U.S. “The Next Day” was announced in early January and released just two months later, on March 12.
The title track, “The Next Day,” sets the album’s apocalyptic, morose tone.
“Here I am/ Not quite dying/ My body left to rot in a hollow tree,” Bowie sings, the gloomy lyrics contrasting with the driving bass line and typical glam guitar riffs.
The rest of the album pays homage to Bowie’s golden years. Songs like “Dancing Out In Space” and “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” showcase pop inspired guitar and Bowie’s vocals, which sound as good as they did in 1973.
Despite the album’s quality, none of the songs on “The Next Day” are easy listening. Bowie didn’t record any 21st century versions of “Fame” or “Suffragette City,” some of his earlier hits.
Songs like “How Does The Grass Grow” feature complicated guitar and esoteric instrumentals, all competing with existential lyrics. “There will be no tomorrow/ Then you sigh in your sleep/ And meaning returns with the day,” Bowie says. As hard as Bowie tries to make the song seem deep and meaningful, the lyrics are lost to the background noise.
Bowie experiments with a protest song on his track “I’d Rather Be High.” Lyrics chiding the “guns on those men in the sand” and the “generals full of s—” stand out against a driving bass line and infectious rhythm.
The standout track of the album is the dreamy “The Stars (Are Out Tonight).” The energetic guitar and pensive lyrics ensure that the track will join “Space Oddity” and “Ziggy Stardust” as one of Bowie’s greatest songs.
The only clunker on the album is the lackluster “Where Are We Now,” the single that Bowie released when the album was first announced. The ballad doesn’t fit with the mythic, pensive vibe of the album and seems out of place on the track list.
Overall, “The Next Day” is one of Bowie’s great albums. Fans of his will not be disappointed with his glam rock riffs and spacey lyrics.
