Blues Pills - Blues Pills

When Blues Pills first came about it was a refreshing, very accessible take on the done-to-death blues rock template. With the resurgence of both stoner and occult rock, Blues Pills offered a simpler route without any of the ridiculous satanic pomp and edgy marijuana references. When Bliss was released in 2012, I fell in love with the band's dusty, authentic rock and roll music. Blues Pills inevitably got signed to a big label, and it all went downhill from there.

This album has been out for two years and I haven't been able to bring myself to write about it because of how disappointing it is. I've tried and tried and tried, and now I finally give up and present this negative review. It is as if the band have had all the life and soul sucked out of them. Sure, better production value is to be expected with a big budget debut, but any magic that the band had previously has well and truly been washed away in the studio polish. Most tragically, even the vocals, once crackling with bluesy lust, energy and fever, are now flat, compressed and devoid of any real emotion or interest. Having several tracks from Bliss re-recorded here does nothing but cement this fact. This debut is nothing more than a 10-tracked, convenient 40-minuter designed to shift units. Bitterly, bitterly disappointing.

How to go from alternative music's new hope to boring dad-rock 101, courtesy of Nuclear Blast.

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica

Okay then...how do I tackle this one (no pun intended)? This is a revered classic of sorts, but I've always had a hard time listening to it (I suppose that is kinda the point? I don't suppose it was recorded with 'easy listening' in mind), but now I have this crazy trip on double vinyl there is no longer any excuse to keep putting off the review/post like I did with my CD copy. Again, let me take this opportunity to briefly waffle about music being on the right format. Considering this was originally recorded in 1969 on analogue equipment, it is understandable that the CD version I have sounds a bit flat. This 2000 Warner Bros pressing on 180 gram vinyl on the other hand, is something to behold; a work of art. I'm often sceptical of the 'boom' in 180 gram 'high fidelity' records on the market, but this is really, really sweet sounding. Captain Beefheart's psychedelic, funky blues is now more of a pleasurable listen, rather than a challenging one.

If you're not familiar with the ways of The Magic Band it can be a bit of a headfuck at first; even for myself, and I've been plumbing the depths of the sonically challenging for quite a while now. With Trout Mask Replica though, it's the horrendous clashing of almost out-of-tune sounding guitar work, mashed together in a 'djent' manner with a random assortment of other instruments - percussive or otherwise - and then all lamented over by what sounds like a crazy hobo just stringing words together for the sheer fuck of it. Typically, I like it, but I can't understand how this record is held so highly all over the world. Fair, in noise, avant-garde and even the fringes of jazz and blues scenes I can see why this would be held in a positive light, but as for the rest of the 'music mainstream' I cannot see why people would like this? Maybe I'm an idiot.

Anyway, some of my favourite Beefheart tracks are here on this monster; "Dachau Blues", "Frownland", "Ella Guru", "Neon Meate Dream Of An Octofish", "My Human Gets Me Blues", "Veteran's Day Poppy" and the "Hair Pie" series...all scatterfuck, weirder-than-your-average approaches to the traditional songwriting structure. I don't know what drugs these guys were on, but I want some.

Blues Pills - Bliss

Boy am I glad I bought this cheeky little 10" when I did (edit: I've now traded it for a copy of Swans' Filth). Due to Blues Pills' ever-blossoming popularity this original 4-track EP is now worth a bloody fortune (for a 10"). The difference between Blues Pills and a gazillion other "revival", "retro" or (dare I say it) "occult rock" acts (that phrase makes me physically sick) is that when Blues Pills first showed up on my radar they were the only ones who seemed even remotely genuine and weren't just jocking a trend of female-fronted slightly-heavy rock bands that had songs about the devil. Because y'know, that's edgy as fuck, amirite?

I don't want to sound like a hipster but the more popular Blues Pills get the less I like them - just check out the super polished sheen on their new record. Bliss though, is a rougher, more intimate recording of true rock music bursting with passion, soul and well, songs about the devil. Bliss balances the right amounts of psychedelic without becoming self-indulgent, and balances the right amount of pop digestibility, without having the songs become too predictable or boring. 

As much as I like to laugh at people with flowers in their hair who think we're still in the sixties, this record is fucking fantastic. It makes me wanna smoke a bunch of weed and drive a convertible through the fucking desert. Play it!

Tom Waits - Frank's Wild Years

I've heard the name Tom Waits tossed around for absolutely yonks, but I never got around to actually hearing the guy properly until I really got into HBO's The Wire, where his song "Way Down In The Hole" was used as the theme song for every single season. The song appeared in five different guises by five different artists, one for each season, with the Waits version itself oddly appearing second on season two. Logically, that would have been first, but hey, it's not my fuckin' show haha

Since then I've looked for an in-road into Tom Waits' music, which was provided to me in the form of a recommendation of the Frank's Wild Years album. It's pretty nice stuff, material of such a type that I rarely partake in listening to, but harking back to a time that no longer exists and conjuring all sorts of fantastic imagery of culture and emotion.

It's bluesy as fark, as was a really nice break for me from a world of grindcore and hip hop (and that one Type O Negative record I keep playing over and over these days). My favourite tracks were probably the gravelier-sounding ones, like "Telephone Call From Istanbul", "Way Down In The Hole" and "Straight To The Top". The opening track, "Hang On St. Christopher" also has a wicked, wicked groove, which I'm sure I've heard somewhere else already.

You gotta keep the devil...

Safehouse - Press to Ascend

This EP has a mega-random story behind it. When I was around 13/14, our gang would always chill / play fuck in this one street in upper-Abercanaid. The wannabe-middle class fucks up there hated us, but we had a few friends who lived there so we always hung around there. Not everyone there was bad, but there was the usual crowd of grouchy middle-aged meatbags who despised children. Not to mention, we did play fuck quite a bit, but that's another story for another time, possibly whilst in a local pub surrounded by old friends and with a belly bursting with beer. I digress. One day this car is pulled up outside one of the houses and a gang of older boys are hanging around it. The boot is open and they are all talking excitedly. I guess one of the lads had parents that lived here. Anyways, after a while one of the dudes walks over with about 10 CDs and asks us all "do you like music?". A few of us answer "yes" in unison and we get given copies of this CD, whom I assume is the band of the boys with the car.

Extremely riveting story aside, the CD turned out to be Press to Ascend, a demo/EP by local jazz-influenced pub rock band, Safehouse. They were quite active around Merthyr for a while but I was too young to really understand or want to be involved in ever going to see them live. It was all a bit before my time. Anyway, time to round this off. Press to Ascend isn't particularly a CD I ever listen to but it is something I will always keep in my collection, mainly for the memories. Also I think it was the first time I was given something as cool as a CD for free by actual musicians. Holy shit! This was self released in 2003. RIP Safehouse!

PS this band is not to be confused with the currently active South Wales covers band Safe House.