BLUES PILLS

(SWEDEN)

HOLY MOLY!

(2020)
LABEL:

NUCLEAR BLAST

GENRE:

ROCK

TAGS:
Bluesy, Female vocals, Old School
""Holy Moly!" is a warm and sharp blues (hard) rock showcase, revealing a Blues Pills in great shape, reinvigorated after almost exploding in mid-air."
CHILDERIC THOR (29.10.2020)  
4/5
(0) opinions (0) comment(s)
Like many others before him, Blues Pills was worn down by a quick ascent coupled with the frantic pace of touring. The musicians tasted the rock'n'roll life of their elders and idols and almost didn't survive this dream come true. As a result, guitarist Dorian Sorriaux ended up packing his bags in 2018, and even though he wasn't the one who started the band, his departure didn't bode well for the future career of a nice band that had gotten too big too fast. Was this one going to explode in full flight at the end of only two albums?

After a long period of silence, "Holy Moly!" comes to sweep away all our fears, third album almost resurrectionary. May the fans be reassured, the flamboyant Elin Larsson is still there. Small changes have taken place, bassist and co-founder Zach Anderson having swapped his instrument for the guitar, replaced at his post by the newcomer Kristoffer Schander. The Swedes took advantage of this well-deserved break to recharge their batteries.

Succeeding a sophisticated "Lady In Gold", this opus doesn't try to revolutionize the style of the band that we can find from the furious track 'Proud Woman' that launches the listening with a devastating energy. But, as much in the shape as in the content, we can guess that Blues Pills wants to go back to a more raw rock, rid of the few evolutions that we could find in the previous record.. At a time when the psychedelic sound has never been so much used by cohorts of followers attracted by this fashion, the band even displays a hardness as brazen as it is welcome, which allows it to cultivate its singularity within a heavily crowded stage.

The fighter 'Low Road' or the powerful 'Dreaming My Life Away' feed this unadorned rock in which the singer's voice is more aggressive than ever, like in 'Rhythm In The Blood', which is also the scene of nice guitar moments by Zack Anderson. A cross between Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin ('California'), the beautiful retains her role as the keystone of a more direct but no less warm building.

The second part of the menu illustrates moreover that Blues Pills did not sacrifice everything on the altar of nervous immediacy. Indeed, from a rather soul 'Dust', the lines become less catchy, sometimes more crawling ('Kiss My Past Goodbye'), tender even ('Wish I'd Know', 'Longest Lasting Friend'), little jewels of writing which underline as much the vocal richness of Elin ('Song From A Mourning Dove') as the emotional strength of the instruments ('By Bye Birdy').

If the hardships endured build the best bands, Blues Pills is unquestionably one of them. This "Holy Moly!", as racy as it is thunderous, confirms it.
- Official website
SIMILAR BANDS:
DEEP PURPLE, PURSON, WUCAN

TRACK LISTING:
01. Proud Woman
02. Low Road
03. Dreaming My Life Away
04. California
05. Rhythm In The Blood
06. Dust
07. Kiss My Past Goodbye
08. Wish I'd Known
09. Bye Bye Birdy
10. Song From A Mourning Dove
11. Longest Lasting Friend

LINEUP:
André Kvarnström: Batterie
Elin Larsson: Chant
Kristoffer Schander: Basse
Zack Anderson: Guitares
   
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READERS
3/5 (3 view(s))
STAFF:
4/5 (3 view(s))
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