One year after David Bowie’s untimely death, three unheard songs have been released as the four-song EP No Plan.
The songs, along with the previously released track Lazarus, are from the sessions from Bowie’s final album Blackstar and were put out last week on the singer’s birthday.
The heavy jazz vibe of Blackstar is reprised here on No Plan and the title track is a reminder of Bowie’s creativity and undiminished technique.
The song recalls his dreamy meditations on early career material like Life on Mars and Berlin trilogy tracks Moss Garden and Neukoln.
Of course, Bowie being Bowie, he mixes it up and takes the perspective in an alternate direction on Killing a Little Time. The song is close in spirit to the jarring riffs and squalling saxophone of The Next Day, his under-the-radar late career masterpiece. When I Met You is edgy and soulful: pure Bowie. The man was a conjurer of mood.
No Plan is brief but exciting, and like much of Bowie’s work it has the element of discovery. One gets the impression of hearing something they’ll never hear elsewhere or again - music from a different plane of existence. He does it one more time on No Plan.
– Dean Gordon-Smith is a Vernon-based musician who reviews the latest music releases for The Morning Star every Friday.