Blues Pills – Lady in Gold
Release Date: August 5th, 2016
Review by: Callum Doig
Who said the ’60s and ’70s music is dead? Though the years have passed, the music and the old chic in its Woodstock era haven’t. And that’s because of groups like Blues Pills, who’ have been one of the most efficacious revivalists of the decade so far. Two years on from their 2014 debut, we see the Swedish quartet take another luscious step into the scene with the sophomore ‘Lady in Gold’.
’Lady in Gold’, like the debut, is an expedition into a revisited domain of the past in the psychedelic blues and soul era. From the title track up to the band’s cover of Tony Joe White’s ‘Elements and Things’, this record offers a lot regarding the genre that’s bred in Blues Pills’ sound. The quartet take diverse and dynamic approaches with a natural and fervent attitude, especially on tracks like ‘Little Boy Preacher’, ‘Burned Out’ and ‘Won’t Go Back’, where they execute a mix of groove, classic heavy metal and hard rock, as well as early blues, which help make each song sound catchy all the way through.
As far as their members go, the spotlight is mostly on Elin Larsson’s Robert Plant/Adele persona in her vocals, which brings an additional swing to the vibe in Blues Pills’ psychedelic nostalgia trip. With a voice like hers, she’s bound to sing for the next James Bond 007 film. Whether there’s full on heavy blues or mellow soul melodies going on from the instrumentals, she’s able to diversify her tone with whatever is thrown out of the hands of her comrades.
Overall, Blues Pills have managed to avoid the same faults many artists make a sophomoric effort, and have pulled out an attractive piece from underneath their sleeves. The Swedish four-piece are only one of a short number that can bring that evocative atmosphere back into the audible auras that have been missed for so long since Joplin, Morrison and Hendrix left our world.
