Bleiknes (album)
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| Bleiknes | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by | |
| Released | October 14, 1979 |
| Recorded | January–May 1979 |
| Studio | Aldsted Studios, Mideltuun, Westmaark, Azmara |
| Genre | |
| Length | 37:14 |
| Label | Gemenwelþ |
| Producer | Frei Mâþijassun |
Bleiknes (Estmerish: Bleakness) is the only studio album released by the Azmaran post-punk trio Bleiknes. The album, recorded over the span of four months in early 1979, is characterised by the use of synthesisers and electric guitars and as such serves as an early example of the use of electronic instrumentation in popular music and is thus considered to be an influential record in the history of the synth-pop and new wave genres and in the history of Azmaran electronic music as a whole.
The album, being released on the then-small, independent Gemenwelþ record label, did not sell particularly well immediately after its 1979 release, debuting at number 53 on the Azmaran Albums Chart. However, the record became a sleeper hit as it began climbing up the album chart, in part due to controversy over misanthropic and explicitly political lyrics, reaching the top position in March 1980 and going on to become the best-selling album of 1980 with Azmara. Despite receiving a polarising critical reception as it was first released, modern critics have revisited the album much more favourably.