Blues Pills – Lady In Gold (Nuclear Blast)

I’m pretty happy with this new discovery (for me): Blues Pills! They have been mixing up the international blues rock scene! Elin Larsson is the perfect leading lady bringing us a mix between Janis Joplin, Adele and our own Nathalia (but hey: Nathalia only comes to her knees). Sound wise they use instruments that sound very retro, anno 60/70’s,  with a gentle touch of Stooges and some Aretha Franklin.

BluesPills have only been active since 2011, after Swedish singer ElinLarsson met Iowa natives and half-brother ZackAnderson (bass) and CoryBerry (drums) in California, and they subsequently teamed up with then-16-year-old guitarist DorianSorriaux in France. Swedish drummer AndréKvarnström replaced Berry in 2014. So far, the quartet have released three EPs, the self-titled debut album (2014) and a live CD (Blues Pills Live, 2015) and have been on the road pretty much nonstop in order to establish their name.

The more I listen to the album the more they show me that they are real monsters on stage, just like the tracks on this album: they all scream for a hot and steamy live version! Be aware: this album will rock your socks off! Retro lovers and people of my age (and older) will absolutely adore it! One note was enough to get me hooked on it and after 24hours of non-stop playing I can still say I cherish it!

The album starts with the dark, bluesy, psychedelic and deadly Lady in Gold. It rocks, it makes you move and it makes you feel good whilst moving on it with a groovy feel. It feels like dark magic has bewitched you! The gospel feel and the piano renders perfectly their new sound and gives it that extra touch that lifts it to a higher level.

More high quality and a perfectly crafted diamond comes in with Little Boy Preacher: it’s groovy, bluesy, rocks, has some gospel in it and some cool retro guitars. It sounds as if somebody took a 70’s record and worked hard on it in a brand new studio: the result is simply mind blowing! This is simply how Nathalia wants to sound like and might never reach that level of perfection! The whole band simply plays like impossible to catch up and reproduce for a second time!

• Burned Out starts a bit weeping gently, with a bluesy touch. Softly it goes a bit more into rambling, with a Janis Joplin feel and a gospel touch. It brings up emotions and touches you deeply. The guitar play is heavenly.
• I Felt A Change is a soft track, with a great voice leading and an organ (or an old school piano synth). Again: feelings arise and grab you. This is a goose bump moment and the perfect way to show off the vocal qualities of ElinLarsson. Don’t forget to check out the new video!
• Gone So Long slowly explodes with a guitar that sounds like a horses and drums hitting as if the same horse gives in the tempo.
• Bad Talkers is a mixture of gospel meets blues in a hot and steamy version.
• You Gotta Try has a high Adele meets Janis Joplin feel. It rocks a bit, explodes, takes some gas back before exploding again and again. You can say it’s one of those hot and steamy tracks that makes you sweat as it’s impossible to stand still. Once again they created something made out of pure gold!
• Won’t Go Back is soul versus rock with a bit of Aretha Franklin and 70’s disco guitar sound! Can’t find enough words to describe how good it is or I would copy and paste all the good things I wrote down about the past songs! It will be a perfect live track, for sure!
• Rejection digs deeper down the bluesy/rock/soul and gospel path. It’s a perfect live track that will heat up the crowd! All instruments are on fire, so don’t get burned as it’s clearly an energetic injection!
• Elements and Things (a TonyJoeWhite cover) is the perfect end track putting the roof on fire for the last time and forcing you to use the repeat all function! You have to cool down after so much of fireworks! It’s also very clear that it’s the perfect summer album as it warms up the place like it should be in summertime!

I enjoyed every track and hope they will tour even more than ever before (countless European & Australian clubs), some of the biggest festivals (RockAmRing/RockImPark, NovaRock, Southside, MontreuxJazzfest, Roskilde, Download) ...