Released: 2013

Genres: Art Rock

The Musiquarium’s The Next Day Review Score: 9 out of 10

By 2013, David Bowie had long since retired, to focus on his family and to take care of his declining health. His last album was Reality and though it had a few good tracks and was nothing short of decent, it was too lightweight of an effort to be a final album for an artist like David Bowie.

Out of nowhere, nearly a decade later, comes a secretly-recorded album with an image that vandalizes the “Heroes” album cover. I genuinely thought it was a joke, but this is David Bowie we’re talking about: Provocateur, pioneer, trailblazer — of course he’d do something like defacing the cover to one of his greatest works.

After you get past the odd artwork, you will find David Bowie in top form. This is a more mature and comfortable Bowie, but he’s leaning more into his classic artistry, with a sharp focus that had been missing since 1980’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps).

The title track has Bowie sounding a bit unhinged, like he’s gotten a new lust for life since coming out of retirement and surviving a heart attack. The song can be somewhat compared to the style of his underrated 1979 album, Lodger. There’s Dirty Boys with its baritone sax and sleazy groove. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) has plenty of emotion to it. Love Is Lost is dark and moody post-punk.

Lead single Where Are We Now? is one of Bowie’s best ballads, like a new age Five Years; speaking of which, You Feel So Lonely You Can Die ends with the same drum beat from said song. Valentines Day mixes upbeat guitars and shalalalas with lyrics about a school shooter, using cupid and his arrows as a metaphor. I’d Rather Be High has an eastern sound and a cheeky chorus.

The Next Day might not quite compare to Bowie’s best albums from 1970-1980, but it comes closest than anything since (though 1. Outside, Earthling and Heathen deserve some love) and is still a remarkable achievement for the aged rockstar. The Next Day was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2013.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view David Bowie on Discogs.

Back to the 2013 Album Guide or the David Bowie Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard