Beautiful Empty

With the Blinding Flashes Of Light’s full band and string orchestration fleshing out his acoustic-guitar and piano-dude arrangements on his latest, Beautiful Empty, John Common diligently works at blurring distinctions between several genres. With the exception of Jess De Nicola’s soulful backing vocals, Common holds Blinding Flashes Of Light’s talents in reserve; they swoop in to add a flourish of violin here, a drum fill there, and retreat just in time to let Common’s vocals hold the spotlight. Common slowly unfurls the arrangement, with each track on Beautiful Empty building to a crescendo by its end.

On "Turnaround," an ever-present violin adds a touch of chamber-pop class without getting too sophisticated for its own good. An accordion and bongos add to the vaguely Latin flavor of “Same Scar,” and the piano-heavy “Good Heart” has just enough romance to wind up on a Valentine’s Day play list without coming off schmaltzy.

Common’s work here is broad and unassuming, coming off sometimes as mere background—certainly this record's biggest shortcoming. Along with the Blinding Flashes Of Light, he eases down the path of Snow Patrol or Coldplay, minus the emotional hyperbole and overtaxed arena ambitions. But frankly, to pass off Beautiful Empty as easily ignored mood music or soft alternative would be to squander Common's talents as a great singer-songwriter.