The Blowbacks - The Blowbacks
Posted Mon 19 Oct 2009 08:06 by lazarus.
When you combine the melody soaked tunes of Seven Years On and the delicate resonance of The Julia Set, you know that only good will can come of it. It is for good reason that the Blowbacks, the band formed of this union, have been eagerly awaited and with the emergence of this seven track debut e.p. that wait is at an end.
Whereas with Seven Years On rock and indie themes were dovetailed into powerful yet immediate contemporary sounds, here songwriter Gareth Nutter’s new direction tips it’s hat; probably a jauntily angled fedora; to a wealth of sixties musical sensibilities. The result may seem like simple throwaway pop songs, but theses are throwaway pop songs that you will want to keep forever.
The rich melodic textures that where often pushed hidden under the more raucous guitar work of his last musical vehicle, are allowed to take flight here allowing delicate musical passages and lush lyrical imagery to balance out the jaunty rhythms and infectious grooves.
But this is no mere Beatlesque pastiche or derivative retro offering and owes as much to bands such as The Primitives or The Darling Buds who used similar references as building blocks for their own 80’s sound as it does to the bands of forty years ago.
Whilst Ghettoblaster Baby is a slightly psyched out rollercoaster of rock dynamic, most of the songs take a more laid back approach ranging from chilled wistful reflections to the pop groove of You Should See Her. If the charts still had any integrity or purpose this would be an obvious hit.
Pop has become a dirty word in recent years, but with this collection of songs, The Blowbacks seem to be on a mission to reclaim the genre and make it safe for human consumption once more. It’s a mission that seems likely to succeed.
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