David Bowie’s return to music is as welcome as it is unexpected, showing he has not lost his power to astound. Listen to his unexpected new single 'Where Are We Now?' below - inspired by his son Duncan Jones' excellent debut film, 'Moon', which features the title as its opening phrase.
In this era of boundless communication, to have kept an album under wraps for two years is remarkable. But Bowie is no ordinary musician. By avoiding the likes of social media, he has maintained that mystique which helps to elevate him and no other music artist has created such a stir in recent memory by simply doing their job - releasing a new record.
I’m glad I’ve had a few days to come back to 'Where Are We Now?' as it would have been easy to have been caught up in the immediate hype. Leading music critics clambered over each other to fawn over the new song, which I feel is more of a reflection of the joy over his return rather than a judgement of the song. Don’t get me wrong, it is a lovely, elegiac song with Bowie displaying a fragility that is truly affecting. But if this had been released on 'Heathen' or 'Reality', I doubt it would have garnered such praise.
It’s the kind of record at this stage of his career you would have expected from him. However, producer Tony Visconti has said the song doesn’t reflect the forthcoming album, 'The Next Day', which he said is ‘quite a rock album’. Perhaps Bowie has wrong-footed everyone again? I hope it’s the case.
Purchase 'Where Are We Now?' at amazon.co.uk. Find more info at davidbowie.com.
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