Leon Vynehall’s "Blush" Is Anthemic House at Its Best
Even without bird-watching the sleeve art for Leon Vynehall’s new album—or reading the bio about how a National Geographic documentary on bird-of-paradise courtship rituals inspired its music—there’s something humid and verdant about Rojus. The eight-minute “Blush” exemplifies such lushness, even before you glimpse the fanning magenta plumage of the video.
Rojus is built from a similar palette: actual bird calls, vocals that are both wordless and breathless, all of it tethered to careening, outsized drums. On “Blush,” a relentless live kick drum and snapping hi-hat meld with a programmed thump, as Vynehall employs squawks that swoop across the track. It’s “jungle” in the literal sense, but at its core, “Blush” is all about anthemic house—a swirl of synthesized strings and a one-key piano tap that nudges us towards a glorious, sweaty precipice. A powerful gospel cry of “Ohhhhh” rises from it all and evokes birds once again, but with a twist: now it feels like you’re the one soaring skyward.
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