Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here

You’ve heard of Gil Scott-Heron.

Maybe you haven’t heard his name—unless you’re a fan of LCD Soundsystem or ’70s R&B—and maybe you’ve never actually heard his work. But the title of Scott Heron’s early career anti-media missive “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” has entered into the national lexicon. And 40 years after the song’s inception, Scott-Heron has maintained its innovation and poetic fervor through his first album in 16 years, I’m New Here.

Scott-Heron’s oeuvre extends to novels and poetry, and this literary grounding is obvious in I’m New Here. His vocal delivery across the 15 tracks, of which five are interludes and two fully spoken word, ranges from a deep croon frayed around the edges to his percussive, roaming speaking voice. The album’s lyrics contain intermittent, irregular rhyming patterns and often inhabit the classic blues form. The songs’ subject matter—death, women, heaven and hell—aren’t revolutionary, but rarely, if ever, have they been delivered over such industrial beats.

The music is constructed piece by piece out of acoustic guitar, piano, synths and tinny drum machines, frequently looped and faded in and out of the song. Parts are brought in and dropped out with incredible aptitude, exemplified best on the emblematic “New York is Killing Me.” A few bars of skittering handclaps are all that support his throaty singing at first, but cymbal bursts forewarn the coming of strings, a heavy drum machine thump and a female gospel chorus that backs a plea of “Lord have mercy, have mercy on me.”

It’s chilling stuff, as is Scott-Heron’s “I’ll Take Care of You,” an overture to a lover that brings to mind wet streets and damp lights with its noir instrumentation. But by now, Scott-Heron is pushing 70, has been in and out of jail and probably knows a bit about the troubling. At the very least, he knows how to make it beautiful.