LUKE BLACK UNLEASHES “SERBIAN POP ALCHEMY” IN THEATRICAL ALBUM DEBUT

ALBUM REVIEW | LUKE BLACK – CHAINSAWS IN PARADISE | by Corin McDonald

London-based Serbian songwriter, Luke Black, has released his debut album Chainsaws in Paradise and in doing so has created a journey
through this project for us all to explore. Incorporating electropop and experimental pop with a dark, theatrical twist; this star has been
described as the ‘Serbian pop alchemist’ and this album truly displays the never-ending extent of Luke’s creativity.

THE ARTIST

Luka Ivanović, known professionally as Luke Black, represented Serbia and succeeded in making it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023.

His engrossing performance was described by the Eurovision Live Blog as “dark, surreal and hypnotic”. This may be viewed as the UK’s first official introduction to Luke, however his fanbase has been consistently strengthening over the years whilst he has been releasing music. Shortly after being crowned the first Serbian artist to be signed to Universal Music Group, he released his debut EP ‘Thorns’ in 2015 which delighted his local audience. Since moving to London in 2019, Luke has been featured on BBC, NME, Pink News and Radio Times and has continued to grow in popularity with over 134.6K monthly listeners on
Spotify. Influences of Lady Gaga and Queen, Luke Black truly has penned his own genre that is so personal and original to himself.

THE ALBUM

This 11 track album begins with ‘God’s Too Cool’, a single that Luke released in November prior to the album; this track is engulfed in pure techno-pop flourishes and expertly sets the distinct tone for the rest of the album.

With dark, intense lyrics and pulsating bass lines, Luke has collated a collection of rhythmic, fierce tracks that flow into one another with such ease that it is so clear this album is meant to be listened to from start to finish. The fourth track on the album ‘Samo mi se spava’ served as Black’s Eurovision song that he performed in the final of the song contest. This moody techno-pop song is sung in both Serbian and English, with the title translating to “I’m just sleepy” – this song is truly enchanting and extremely intriguing with a contrasting energetic burst within the choruses.

Following after is the title track of the album, ‘Chainsaws in Paradise’ beginning with an eerie synth that instantly creates a suspenseful atmosphere and then is rapidly cut off by a crunchy tone from the rhythm guitar that follows a chromatic melody to further induce anticipation and the introduction of Luke’s distorted vocals. Through lyrics such as; “I’m just a soldier when my mind is gore”, Luke cleverly displays his emotions and I feel there is a very open outlook on this song so that the listener can interpret this in their own manner. This track has crashing drums, thumping bass and raw emotion channelled into a pure electro-rock tune. Marking the halfway point through this compilation of songs is ‘Helium’ which changes the dynamic drastically; with heartfelt lyrics and a slower beat, this piano driven track gives room to breathe and feels like an honest, emotional track that still has whispers of Luke’s techno influences.

The rest of the tracks on the album follow in a similar vein to the first half, with songs such as ‘aNGeLM3TaL’ and ‘Lobotomy’ producing upbeat, dancing rhythms with gore-filled lyricism. My personal favourite, ‘I’m So Happy’ is the penultimate track and truly is an earworm with its catchy chorus that cleverly plays with tonality and seemingly ironic lyrics. The album ends with a theatrical, electro-infused bang with the song ‘Only Your Love’ that will be crawling around your ears for days after.