Blank Project

Cherry wrote the material as a way to mourn for her mother, who died in 2009.{{cite web|last=Gehr|first=Richard|title=Neneh Cherry Talks Her Weird Punk-Pop-Jazz Trajectory, and the New 'Blank Project'|url=https://www.spin.com/2014/02/neneh-cherry-interview-blank-project/|work=SPIN |publisher=Spin Music, a division of SpinMedia|accessdate=25 February 2014|date=24 February 2014}} The record is a departure from her previous work, consisting of a more sparse sound, with loose drums and a few synthesizers as the only accompaniment to her voice.{{cite web|title=Neneh Cherry shares details of new album Blank Project out 24th February 2014/25th February in the US on Smalltown Supersound|url=https://soundcloud.com/neneh-cherry/blank-project|work=SoundCloud|accessdate=29 January 2014}} RocketNumberNine provides industrial beats.{{cite web|last=Oddy|first=Guy|title=CD: Neneh Cherry - Blank Project|url=http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/cd-neneh-cherry-blank-project|work=The Arts Desk|accessdate=26 February 2014|date=23 February 2014}}

{{Album ratings

| ADM = 8.0/10{{cite web|url=http://anydecentmusic.com/review/6153/Neneh-Cherry-Blank-Project.aspx|title=Blank Project by Neneh Cherry reviews|work=AnyDecentMusic?|accessdate=19 December 2019}}

| MC = 82/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/blank-project/neneh-cherry|title=Reviews for Blank Project by Neneh Cherry|work=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|accessdate=24 February 2014}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Kellman|first=Andy|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blank-project-mw0002600204|title=Blank Project – Neneh Cherry|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=24 February 2014}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2Score = A−{{cite web|last=Bowman|first=Patrick|url=https://www.avclub.com/review/neneh-cherry-crafts-trip-hop-in-her-own-image-on-b-201446|title=Neneh Cherry crafts trip-hop in her own image on Blank Project|work=The A.V. Club|date=25 February 2014|accessdate=26 February 2014}}

| rev3 = The Daily Telegraph

| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Helen|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/10658085/Neneh-Cherry-Blank-Project-frustrating-yet-addictive.html|title=Neneh Cherry, Blank Project, review|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=24 February 2014|accessdate=25 February 2014}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/20/neneh-cherry-blank-project-review|title=Neneh Cherry: Blank Project – review|newspaper=The Guardian|date=20 February 2014|accessdate=25 February 2014}}

| rev5 = The Independent

| rev5Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite news|last1=Harley|first1=Kevin|last2=Williams|first2=Holly|last3=Richman|first3=Simmy|last4=Coleman|first4=Nick|last5=Johnson|first5=Phil|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-reviews-beck-st-vincent-neneh-cherry-ags-connolly-john-harle-marc-almond-9144291.html|title=Album reviews: Beck, St Vincent, Neneh Cherry, Ags Connolly, John Harle & Marc Almond|newspaper=The Independent|date=23 February 2014|accessdate=31 October 2018}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6Score = 8/10{{cite web|last=Batey|first=Angus|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/neneh-cherry/15108|title=Neneh Cherry – 'Blank Project'|work=NME|date=24 February 2014|accessdate=25 February 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227003443/http://www.nme.com/reviews/neneh-cherry/15108|archivedate=27 February 2014|url-status=dead}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7Score = 7.7/10{{cite web|last=Raymer|first=Miles|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19017-neneh-cherry-blank-project/|title=Neneh Cherry: Blank Project|work=Pitchfork|date=24 February 2014|accessdate=25 February 2014}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Neneh Cherry: Blank Project|work=Q|issue=332|date=March 2014|page=110}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Hermes|first=Will|author-link=Will Hermes|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/blank-project-20140225|title=Blank Project|work=Rolling Stone|date=25 February 2014|accessdate=26 February 2014}}

| rev10 = Spin

| rev10Score = 8/10{{cite news|last=Sherburne|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Sherburne|url=https://www.spin.com/2014/02/neneh-cherry-blank-project-spin-essential/|title=Neneh Cherry’s ‘Blank Project’ Is an Ocean of Intimate, Nonchalantly Electrifying Funk|newspaper=Spin|date=25 February 2014|accessdate=31 October 2018}}

}}

Blank Project received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 82, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". NPR calls the work "stark and urgent, almost entirely percussive. Her lyrics are less rebel treatises than koans or ruminations." Spin says it is "a stark, bracing, and emotionally vulnerable album that straddles the jazz, pop, and electronic worlds rather brilliantly." The Guardian calls it "a bold and adventurous album".{{cite news|last=Mossman|first=Kate|title=Neneh Cherry, interview: 'People ask me where I've been for 18 years'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/23/neneh-cherry-blank-project-solo-album-interview|accessdate=25 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 February 2014}}

The Arts Desk describes the record: "High on rhythms and percussion and low on conventional melodies, it certainly isn’t easy listening but is frequently bold and challenging, with harsh electronica providing the only accompaniment to Neneh’s warm vocals." The Skinny calls Blank Project a "triumph."{{cite web|last=Gieben|first=Bram E.|title=Neneh Cherry – Blank Project (5 Stars)|url=http://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/records/306950-neneh_cherry_blank_project|work=The Skinny|publisher=Radge Media Limited|accessdate=26 February 2014|date=11 February 2014}}

Electronic Beats says: "Blank Project is an upturned bag on a table, pouring out its contents for anyone to sort through: chewed up emotions, snotty little insecurities and the kind of anxiety that’ll etch red marks into the skin if you carry it around too long."{{cite web|last=Saxelby|first=Ruth|title=Sweet and Sour: Ruth Saxelby on Neneh Cherry’s Blank Project|url=http://www.electronicbeats.net/en/features/reviews/sweet-and-sour-ruth-saxelby-on-neneh-cherrys-blank-project/|work=Electronic Beats|accessdate=26 February 2014|date=20 February 2014}}

In Vice, Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention, naming "Out of the Black" and "Spit Three Times" as highlights, while writing, "long-ago hipster-funk ingénue reclaims her avant-garde roots".{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=November 4, 2016|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/reinvention-response-and-redemption-song-expert-witness-with-robert-christgau/|title=Reinvention, Response, and "Redemption Song": Expert Witness with Robert Christgau|work=Vice|access-date=November 6, 2016}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Blank Project track listing

| total_length = 48:52

| title_width = 740px

| all_lyrics = Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey and Paul Simm{{cite web|last=Bui|first=Paul|title=life is just a bowl of neneh cherry's|url=https://i-d.co/article/life-is-just-a-bowl-of-neneh-cherrys/|work=i-D Magazine|access-date=26 February 2014|date=24 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428035400/http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/read/interviews/1822/life-is-just-a-bowl-of-neneh-cherrys|archive-date=2014-04-28|url-status=live}}

| title1 = Across the Water

| length1 = 3:28

| title2 = Blank Project

| length2 = 4:05

| title3 = Naked

| length3 = 3:57

| title4 = Spit Three Times

| length4 = 4:18

| title5 = Weightless

| length5 = 5:46

| title6 = Cynical

| length6 = 4:10

| title7 = 422

| length7 = 5:21

| title8 = Out of the Black

| note8 = featuring Robyn

| length8 = 5:15

| title9 = Dossier

| length9 = 5:12

| title10 = Everything

| length10 = 7:20

}}

• [http://www.roughtrade.com/albums/79146 Rough Trade] / [http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/products/NenehCherry-BlankProject-SmalltownSupersound-94391.html Piccadilly Records]:
• CD version: Bonus CD
• LP version: Double LP with CD of album and bonus CD

The Blank Project - Bonus Remix Disc (available via Rough Trade Records and Piccadilly Records{{cite web|title=Neneh Cherry Blank Project - Bonus Disc Edition: Track Listing|url=http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/products/NenehCherry-BlankProject-SmalltownSupersound-94391.html|work=Piccadilly Records|accessdate=25 February 2014}}

1. "Everything" (Radio Edit)
2. "Out of the Black" (featuring Robyn) (Joe Goddard Extended Version)
3. "Everything" (Villalobos & Loderbauer: Vilod Low Blood Pressure Mix)
4. "Out of the Black" (featuring Robyn) (Bouvet Remix)

• Neneh Cherry - vocals
• Robyn - vocals on "Out of the Black"
• RocketNumberNine - music
• Producer – Four Tet

{{reflist|2}}

• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070513053043/http://www.nenehcherry.com/ NenehCherry.com]}} (official site)

{{Neneh Cherry}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2014 albums

Category:Neneh Cherry albums

Category:Albums produced by Kieran Hebden

Category:Smalltown Supersound albums