Yep: 4 people from Sweden who know how to rock you and a frontwomen on fire. Expecting and ready to give birth whilst recording: she gave birth and it was a double birth: first a healthy kid and now an album on fire! Those who are not happy with the new Thundermother can always run to this band!
“With this album we truly let ourselves be free, leaving all the boundaries and expectations behind to write music we love. We wanted to capture the raw and authentic feeling from when we play live on an album yet pushing ourselves to create and write the best work we’ve ever done. Elin was pregnant during the recordings, and what isn’t more rock’n’roll than that? To create human life and music.” Singer Elin Larsson found out about her pregnancy during the songwriting sessions for the album. She sang her vocal parts in the studio while her son was growing inside her. This not only gave the singer herself a strong sense of freedom, but also inspired her fellow musicians and strengthened Blues Pills' self-image as a feminist band. "I need to do this for myself and for other mothers, so they don’t abandon their own passions after becoming mums", tells Elin. "It’s going to take time to combine the two worlds I love, but I can only think it will do my son Loui good to experience other cultures, countries and music. I really think it’s important that I can do this. To empower other women, and to meet this new state proudly and enjoy." "A lot of the years I’ve been taking shit for being a woman in rock'n'roll", she says, "Zack sees it all first hand and it gives a new perspective. For everyone in the band it’s a constant driver.”
Gitarrist Zack Anderson says: "We support each other. It’s always been, since the beginning 12 years ago Zack & Elin. We’ve seen it all.“ Blues Pills may sometimes seem mellow, laid-back and nerdy when they're at home tending to their vinyl collections or walking their dogs in snowy Swedish landscapes. But on stage, it bursts out of them like magma. The band is known all over the world for their energetic live shows. "Our stage presence has developed naturally," explains Zack Anderson. "Elin is fearless, jumping around, crowdsurfing ... she's on fire.“ Blues Pills’ new album Birthday exudes an irrepressible energy and live-feel, that bespeaks a confidence in their ability to craft new compelling sounds without tampering with the explosive formula that got them their start – a sound that’s as eclectic as it is heavy as it is fun, and their continuity is testament to their determination to progress, mature, and evolve their sound within a fickle industry.
They start with the title track and directly start to rock at first slowly building up and creating the needed tension and once ready letting it all go: Birthday rocks! I adore the bass guitar sound! I can hear the live vibe and just as all the other tracks: it’s all ready to be performed on stage and give the fans a blast!
Don't You Love It: once again Kristoffer does a great job. This time the sound is a bit sweater (and fits the title). I also adore the drums here. I even hear some 60’s influences (Motown and co).
Bad Choices: we all make them, yet this one sounds so catchy and all fired up (in a positive way). It’s a very summerish track and should become a single. The vocals are great!
Top Of The Sky is somehow reminding me of Adele. It’s a great blues minded rock ballad with great vocals! A real tearjerker! It’s clearly the perfect choice as a single as I call it a top track!
Like A Drug has a nice synth or is it an orgue? The vocals sound nice and mixing blues and rock like only the best can! I hear a slice of a psychedelic sound. Once again a great job done by Kristoffer.
Piggyback Ride has already been launched as a single and should be known as a great rocker with a good tempo.
Holding Me Back is a nicely wrapped up rocker with a lady that wants to leave the place that make her feel like captured in a cage. This one will work out fine on stage and what a voice!
Somebody Better is looking back at the past and evaluating it all. Seems somehow like the red line of this album. Luckily she tells us she has become somebody better.
Shadows sounds really modern and is pretty far off from the rocking road. Some of the guitar parts are into blues. I hear a blasted sound: fitting a live gig and turning it into a true feast for the fans! ? I also hear some Mannish Boy (Muddy Waters) in it, btw, mixed with some Black Mirrors.
I Don't Wanna Get Back On That Horse Again starts almost as a gospel minded piano track. It’s a real WOW track! Just listen to it, not gonna spell it for you.
What Has This Life Done To You is the needed retro blast to end this marvellous new album! This is the definition of Blues Pills!
I feel like this is the album Adele should make soon or the album Thundermother never made (but should have)! I adore the parts where the song is really on fire! And yes there are some similarities with the Belgian band Black Mirrors. My 10 years old daughter and I might even attend their gig in Brussels to check them out on stage! Looking forward to it! And yes: I prepped an interview, so let's see if this works out!
Tourdates:
- October 4, 2024: Hamburg, Germany - Gruenspan
- October 5, 2024: Cologne, Germany - Luxor
- October 6, 2024: Brussels, Belgium – Botanique - Museum
- October 8, 2024: Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms
- October 9, 2024: Glasgow, UK - Garage
- October 11, 2024: London, UK - Lafayette
- October 12, 2024: Manchester, UK - Band On The Wall
- October 13, 2024: Dublin, Ireland - Opium
- October 15, 2024: Bristol, UK - Thekla
- October 16, 2024: Paris, France - Maroquinerie
- October 18, 2024: Frankfurt am Main, Germany - Das Bett
- October 19, 2024: Karlsruhe, Germany - Substage
- October 20, 2024: Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg
- November 1, 2024: Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
- November 8, 2024: Gothenburg, Sweden - Pustervik
- November 9, 2024: Stockholm, Sweden - Kägelbanan
- November 21, 2024: Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset
- November 22, 2024: Oslo, Norway - Vulkan Arena
- November 29, 2024: Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
- November 30, 2024: Warsaw, Poland - Niebo
- December 1, 2024: Prague, Czech Republic - Rock Café
- December 3, 2024: Berlin, Germany - Hole 44
- December 4, 2024: Vienna, Austria - SIMM City
- December 6, 2024: Munich, Germany - Backstage
- December 7, 2024: Rubigen/Bern, Switzerland - Mühle Hunziken
- December 8, 2024: Milan, Italy - Circolo Magnolia
- December 10, 2024: Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
- December 11, 2024: Madrid, Spain - Mon
- December 13, 2024: Toulouse, France – Metronum *without Daniel Romano’s Outfit
- December 14, 2024: Lyon, France - Marche Gare *without Daniel Romano’s Outfit
https://bluespills.com/
BLUES PILLS is:
Elin Larsson – vocals
Zack Anderson – Guitar
Kristoffer Schander – Bass
André Kvarnström – Drums
