Billie Black - Teach Me

Billie Black
Teach Me
2015

Billie Black made a name for herself with her first EP in 2014 000 100 and the single "I Don't Need Another Lover". It was electronic goodness with her soulful singing front and center on all four tracks. She is back again less than a year later with a 6 track EP called Teach Me. This record works as more of a soul album then her previous release. The electronic sound has taken a bit of a backseat to her driving vocals. This album is more stripped down and focuses on her vocal. On "Going Under" she does stretch out a bit with a Jungle houseish track, but it doesn't have much pop and falls a bit flat. Where as the first EP had an edge and a point of view that is something that is missing from this release. There is a bass element that you search for throughout the album that just never comes in. Her voice is so rich and beautiful that putting it against something deeply electronic worked great on 000 100 but it never comes together on Teach Me.

Billie Black seems to want to keep her feet in two worlds with this release; she is making a push for Pop while still trying to hold on to Indie credibility. Her voice seems to be the most successful when paired with ethereal tones and deep beats and that just is not on this record. She sounds so great on a large scale and Teach Me tries to box her in something that is quite the misstep. If Billie Black really wants to breakthrough she needs to put it all out there and take a risk. Teach Me is a safe album, right down the middle of the road, and for an artist like Billie Black the middle is never going to be a place she flourishes.

5.5 out of 10