Band:	Blues Pills
Album:	Blues Pills
Style:	Psychedelic hard rock, Blues rock
Release date:	July 25, 2014
A review by:	R'Vannith

01. High Class Woman
02. Ain't No Change
03. Jupiter
04. Black Smoke
05. River
06. No Hope Left For Me
07. Devil Man
08. Astralplane
09. Gypsy [Chubby Checker cover]
10. Little Sun

Psychedelic rock has always been a diverse and creative musical niche, the more upbeat and rhythmically infectious examples of the subgenre usually facilitating the modus operandi to which its fans would stereotypically respond with: "whoa, groovy vibes." When a band lives and breathes the general ideals that held sway over rock music as exemplified from the mid-60's to the mid-70's, and manages to make it seem as if this time has come all over again through sound waves instilling euphoric nostalgia, you know you've hit something hippies would consider gold, if they had any materialistic interest in shiny metals. The feeling of an entire decade has been conveniently, colourfully and convincingly compressed into one audible pill, a first full dose this Swedish based band has self-labelled as Blues Pills.

Within the retro-psychedelic craze that holds international appeal across contemporary rock music today, this young band stands out. Not because they present a boundary pushing new sound or take psychedelic elements to unprecedented transcendental heights, but because their style is familiar and fresh in equal measure. Down-to-earth musicianship makes Blues Pills what they are. Completely care free in character, there are no artistic extensions or ambitions here that they obviously don't feel at ease and comfortable in demonstrating.

The result of this is ten tunes which revive the heydays of a variety of acts ranging from the likes of such notables as Janis Joplin, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and the ever influential Led Zeppelin with unrivalled fervour and authenticity. It's astonishing to think that so many years separate this band's style from their inspirations; the nostalgic impact this music must have for those of that generation is practicably unfathomable to me as a youth. Yet that doesn't mean that their sound doesn't appeal to folks of all ages, after all, these bluesy tunes are for the here and now, making this kind of rock music entirely relevant again. The music here represents more than mere resuscitation; it's renewal and energising of a sound that will never fade from collective memory. Successful rejuvenation is Blues Pills' triumph.

Individuality is a hard thing to come by from the plethora of efforts made to reinstate psychedelic rock's relevance for younger generations. As a part of said generation, this band's members being in their early twenties, they pull off the sound of decades ago with astonishing stylistic accuracy, to the point it may leave the listener convinced that they are in fact hearing something of that past era.

In essence their debut record is characterised by a well controlled duality; you'll find totally irresistible upbeat numbers such as the Chubby Checker cover "Gypsy" with its busy percussion and you'll find the more morose and psychedelia embracing wind-downs like "No Hope Left For Me". The contrast is there and easy to hear, which creates something of a exhilarated state within the writing of the first four tracks, before the listener is brought back from experiencing such a state with an abrupt change of mood and pace in the residually psychedelic flow of the bluesy "River." Although the preceding toe-tapper "Black Smoke" works well to more subtly introduce the bluesy side of the sound in its slower tempo segments. Tracks like "Devil Man" emerge from the blues swathing with heavy psych edge and dynamic vigour.

To summarise the maturity of the musicianship here, their attributes are made clear with the centrepiece in the vocal performance. The rhythm section is an exemplary context for Elin Larsson's soul infused delivery, both defining frame and soul of a varied blues to psychedelic rock performance. This band is exceptionally tight knit with authentic hippie hemp of the most organic quality, to which Larsson gives voice in full colour. The production brings out the best in the sound, the psychedelic elements occupying an appropriate space behind the guitars, bass and percussion, but not to the point of their receding and being withheld or rendered inaudible.

Blues Pills isn't simply a product of the retro-psychedelic rock movement, as this debut presents all the ideals that the movement aspires to achieve.