Reviews roundup – Blue Angel vs.Lloyd James Fay vs. Bloodwork
BLUE ANGEL
Departures
43 Records
I hated most of the nineties. They were shit. So I’m always extra happy when an album comes along that sounds like it’s straight out of 1997. Say hallo to Blue Angel. Seems like songwriter Jason Newton had frittered away a fair amount of time playing in indie bands before he came across vocalist Bella Bennett in North London. A few drinks later, and magic was born!
Now I hadn’t heard any of the singles they’ve released since getting together in 2010 – that’s ‘Beautiful Day’, ‘One More Down To Go’ and ’43 Days’ – so was unaware of what their groove was. But, lo and behold, it’s trip-hop. Yup. The dinner party genre that time forgot. Or so we all hoped. But hold hard a moment, don’t run off just yet, because this is actually rather good. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve been on a number 43 bus in Holloway Road. Nope, they’ve actually managed to apply some grit to a moribund sound that lifts it out of the world of muzak and into the world of music.
It helps that Ms Bennett has a very listenable voice, but the grooves that drive along tunes like ‘One More Down To Go’, ‘La Conexion’ and ‘Colour Of Summer’ are absolutely delightful. I must be getting old because I really enjoyed this. For shame.
LLOYD JAMES FAY
The Black River Chronicles
Platform
Just when you think you can’t get any more depressed, along comes a record that does just that. Thanks Lloyd James Fay, erstwhile frontman with Scotch indie band Thula Borah (no, me neither). The clue is in the title. Because it’s a reference to the American Midwestern location of Michael Lesley’s ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’, which explores the psychological effect of life in Black River Falls through photographs and newspaper cuttings. Cheers.
So what Mr Fay has done is embark upon a singery / songwritery Red House Painters like exploration of the same. In Lanarkshire. I’ve got family in Lanarkshire, Carnwath to be exact, so I can vouch for the fact that they’ve got a lot to be depressed about, and this should help push a few cousins over the edge. To be fair, the opening numbers – ‘Among the Reeds’ and ‘Unwanted Children’ don’t really prepare you for some of the desperation later on in the album, but gird yersels.
I must admit, I sometimes struggled to hear what he was actually singing about, but it certainly sounded as though something bad had happened / was happening / was about to happen, and it was only when I got to ‘Joy Thief’, at the end of the record that I felt as though a slight cleansing had taken place. Musically, it sits in the folk pop hinterlands, lyrically, it’s all internalised. One for people who don’t know how good they’ve got it.
BLOODWORK
Zero
Gordeon
Aiiiieee!!! Third album proper from the German metallers, and it’s their first with new singer Michael. Or to give him his proper title “death metal shouter”. Which comes as a bit of a relief after an hour in the company of Lloyd James Fay. Yes, what I needed was some blood curdling metal, and that’s exactly what Bloodwork offer up.
It’s rooted in the Swedish melodic death metal sound coined back in the nineties, but they’ve added a few metalcore sounds to toughen their approach up, something that pays dividends on tunes like ‘Roaming The Void’, ‘Deadborn’ and ‘All The Scars Remain’. Guitarists Robert and Nikko (this is a band that doesn’t do surnames) can riff with the best of them, and the rhythm section hold things down well. Quite whether they’ve got strong enough songs or a standout identity is still in the air, but have a look at the video below, and make up your own mind.
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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