Big Swing Face
Bruce Hornsby smashes his well-worn, previously cemented image and sound with his eighth album,Big Swing Face. In the debris are 11 layered and daring experiments in funk, trip-hop, New Orleans jazz, pop, and rock with a capitalR. His signature poignant, rolling piano has been unexpectedly swapped for fuzzed-out guitars, rhythmic loops, and surprisingly hip samples. Using these new elements results in an irreverent tone, and grants Hornsby the freedom to veer from the socially conscious, lovelorn lyrics of previous hits ("The Way It Is," "Mandolin Rain"). From a litany of insults strung together on "Sticks & Stones" to the possible mission-statement chorus of "Try Anything Once" ("What the hell / Try anything once / Gotta keep an open mind in these crazy times"), Hornsby reveals all sorts of faces we've never seen before--on him or anyone else.--Laura Etling