Album Review: I Blame Coco – The Constant

When your father is a musical icon and your mother is an accredited actress, both known the world over, you can only imagine the pressure of you mirroring the same level of success in your life, is the same as when your parents teach history and maths at your school – fail and it’ll feel like you’ve failed them. Read any review, interview or feature on I Blame Coco and lead singer Coco Sumner’s father will often get more than just a passing mention.. However, has this constant connection between father and daughter led to a deliberate distance in sound, aiming for her debut to be as far away as possible from any of the work from her male elder?

Fittingly, opening track ‘Self Machine’ describes Coco’s constant strive to stand oon her own feet, rather than in the shadows of noticeable nearby others, singing  “I’m not a human if you say I’m not” – this girl might not like the pressure on her shoulders, but it seems she’s adamant not to be defeated by it.

‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ is a cover of the Neil Young classic with a electro pop twist,  although in a simpler term – cheesy beyond belief. It does no justice to the creator, nor Sumner’s endearing vocals – one of the bands best assets. The track sounds like Aqua after their instruments have been submerged in water and connected to a power socket: a bang no one wants to hear.

Not helping the album any further, Title-track ‘The Constant’ is as slow and boring as waiting for your name to be called in a doctor’s surgery, only to find your appointment was Thursday not Friday. However, what really throws salt in this wound is that it isn’t the first time Sumner has recorded it. The previous version was raw with its rhythm, and her voice complimented the music better than fine cheese compliments old wine.

For any long-term fans, you might remember this time as the catchy ‘prior to the release of her first official single and before she worked with Klas Åhlund/Robyn’ – this was a time when Sumner had power packed lyrics with nothing more than a nylon stringed accompaniment. When her pen was mightier than the sword, and her guitar was stronger than the synth.

The closest thing this debut see’s of this old Sumner, is on the faint whiffs of excellence on ‘Summer Rain’, ‘Playwright Fate’ and ‘No Smile’ – which, to the bands credit, are all songs which have saved their next release falling on the office work experience’s desk first, instead of the editors.

‘The Constant’ isn’t painful to listen to, it’s just not pleasurable either. It feels contrived and lacks passion; possibly a small act of childish rebellion against the constant references to Coco’s parentage.

Who’s her dad? It doesn’t really matter. Do they sound the same? Yeah they do, but you’ve got the same eyes as your mum, yet no one complains about that.

This also featured on This Is Fake DIY – 15th November, 2010.

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