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Blues Music Blog & Promotion

Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, put the grit in folk with his reverently fervid single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE

Posted on 13 January 2023

With the choppy discord in the acoustic guitar strings against his gravelly punk blues vocals, the Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, orchestrated a roots rock masterpiece with his latest single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE.

We didn’t need his bio to inform us of his intense emotional relationship with sound and music. But learning that the relationship was strengthened after he was left legally blinded by a disease at eighteen made the fierily ardent passion in SET MYSELF ON FIRE burn with even more reverence.

Any fans of Dogs D’Amour and The Quireboys won’t want this fervidly impactful single to pass them by. The dark poetic imagery in the lyrics paired with the frenetic pace of the guitar rhythms that consume the instrumental arrangement with their ragged timbre is a sobering multisensory experience that reaches the pinnacle of gritty folk.

SET MYSELF ON FIRE will officially release on January 13th. Stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Terry Blade warns even unconditional love has its limits in his Country-Blues single, ‘Won’t Be Around’

Posted on 6 January 2023

Two-time recipient of the Global Music Awards, Terry Blade, lined himself up for more prestigious accolades by recording his latest single, Won’t Be Around. The stripped-back simmering melting pot of Gospel-Esque Soul, Blues and Country commands your adoration from the first gravelled in feisty-fervour vocal note.

From there on out, the lyrics compel you to take stock of the protagonists in your life as you’re reminded that unconditional love always has its limits. With his voice commanding the soundscape, which paid homage to the roots of Americana with the minimalistic trickle of bluesy keys and strummed acoustic guitar notes, you’re left with no option but to be arrested.

During his career, which sheds light on his experience as a black gay artist, Terry Blade has picked up over 40 awards, And something tells us his glory days are far from behind him.

Won’t Be Around will officially release on January 6th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Derek Vaden – Eating My Words: Blisteringly Hot Indie Blues Rock

Posted on 31 December 2022

The sex appeal isn’t the only thing that’s visceral in the swaggering alt-rock single, Eating My Words, from Derek Vaden’s 2022 EP, The Recreational Experiment. The Chicago-based musician and songwriter salaciously straddles the line between blues rock and indie to deliver a hard and heavy rhythmic revival; if Velvet Revolver and Muse had an aural lovechild, it would undoubtedly go under the moniker, Derek Vaden.

The winding blues rock increments are overdriven to the nth degree to give the riotous release anthemic appeal, but none of the vintage blues rock tones lost their bluesy bite. If anything, teeth have been sharpened in this confrontationally volatile release, which was written, performed, and recorded by Derek Vaden’s reverently rock n roll hands in his own studio.

Check out Eating My Words on YouTube and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Square Pyramid sang the post-punk blues in their grungy hit, Run Down Dirty Soul

Posted on 26 December 2022

Taken from the eponymous debut album from Square Pyramid, the standout single, Run Down Dirty Soul, is a progressively exhilarating mash of era-spanning alternative culture. From post-punk to blues to grunge, it’s all on the table in this enlivening intrinsically originated hit that has what it takes to unite music scenes once and for all.

With atmospheric hints to Echo and the Bunnymen in the chorally cold rings of the guitars in the intro along with bluesy harmonica blasts before the track slams into a grungy revival of off-kilter alt-90s and college radio rock tones, clearly, each of the three members of Square Pyramid came to the outfit with their own influences and inclinations. And therein lies the blisteringly experimental alchemy within Run Down Dirty Soul. It is a sonic amalgamation that no other outfit has brought to the table.

There’s nothing quite like allowing multiple parts of your personality to meet each other in the space of one song, and that’s exactly what Run Down Dirty Soul achieved for me.

Check out Run Down Dirty Soul on Apple Music and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

What it means to be lost: Jamos Blood – Flesh and Back to Bone

Posted on 25 December 2022

Jamos Blood sludged up blues-rock in the standout single, Flesh and Back to Bone, from his debut EP, Blood Brothers, which delivers swampy riffs, train track rhythms and a sense of ennui that cries out to the disenfranchised by uncertain futures masses.

“Gonna walk my dog til he don’t walk no more” beautifully and sentimentally encompasses the notion that everything is fleeting in a cruel world which pulls away every anchor, eventually.

The EP was recorded with Blood’s late brother, Clayton, which puts even more context behind the titular disposition and the themes of love and loss that will wash with any Waits and Petty fans.

As someone who is no stranger to grief, it was all too easy to connect with Jamos Blood’s psyche in Flesh and Back to Bone. The sense of lost listlessness with splinters of optimism that can often feel naïve was captured with such finesse in the roots-driven rock hit it is easy to view Jamos Blood as one of the most important voices of our era.

Flesh and Back to Bone is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OneSelf Featuring Mario Deschenes, orchestrated an electrifying rock n roll revival with “( Here ‘N’ There ) ‘N Anywhere”

Posted on 8 December 2022
OneSelf Featuring Mario Deschenes

“( Here ‘N’ There ) ‘N Anywhere” is the latest simmering feat of groove-heavy rock n roll from OneSelf Featuring Mario Deschenes. With the pop motifs beside the bluesy piano riffs and plenty of overdrive behind the raucous guitar lines, it is hard not to get swept up in the upraising momentum of the infectious earworm led by Mario Deschenes.

With touches of The Beatles written into the production and an element of 70s era Elton John in the frenetically galvanising hit, any true rock n roll fan won’t be able to resist the garagey electrifying energy within ( Here ‘N’ There ) ‘N Anywhere, which contains equal parts swagger and soul.

Listen to Here ‘N’ There ) ‘N Anywhere here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pennsylvania-based fusionist Ikechi Onyenaka shows us what inspiring music sounds like with Hardships

Posted on 7 December 2022

Pacifying our exasperated heads with a mellow vibe to ease all nerves into the distance, Ikechi Onyenaka shall warm all icy hearts who needed a long hug with the supremely dreamy single Hardships.

Ikechi Onyenaka is an Upper Darby, Pennsylvania-based indie jazz and blues fusionist who makes a stunning blend of smooth music vibrations for the world to be thrilled by.

After previously bringing us those twilight grooves with City Dreams, Ikechi Onyenaka performs with a rare class and shows world class skills on this latest gem. Calming to the max and never letting our hand go, this is a special soundtrack when you need 7 minutes of calm to enter the galaxy.

Hardships from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania-based jazz and blues fusionist Ikechi Onyenaka is a wonderful single which will surely make many humans smile. There is no fake flash here, only realness, and for that we must all be truly thankful. Bringing through an array of goodness, we float into a release with so much to heal with.

Hear this top new single on Spotify and see more of his journey on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Wanna Run Round With Me: The Good Dudes drops bluesy kiss-filled Taste of Me

Posted on 7 November 2022

Knowing that sweet talking will only go so far, The Good Dudes reminds us we can be happy if we say those words which might drive a new lover’s ears wild on Taste of Me.

The Good Dudes is a south Louisiana-raised 8-piece blues/pop/rock-fusion outfit who reminds us of that timeless sound which will get many dancing like the 70s again.

”Since making their full-length debut in 2019, the band has played Festival International de Louisiane, toured the southeast, and continued to grow their devoted fanbase.” ~ The Good Dudes

Floating into our minds with something rather accomplished on the ears, The Good Dudes untangles the seaweed of the world off our bodies like a lifeguard and urges us to move onto happier seas with a twinkle in the eye.

Taste of Me from south Louisiana-raised 8-piece blues/pop/rock-fusion band The Good Dudes is a terrific song made with so much soul and love. This is proper music. There is genuine substance on offer. Real energy. Vocally on point and dipped in a romantic energy to truly lather inside, this is one of the best moving singles of the year so far.

Listen up to this new single on Spotify and see more news on the IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Love Prevails in Mermaid Avenue’s Indie Alt-Country Single, Darkest Hour

Posted on 2 November 2022

Brisbane’s most amorous indie alt-country outfit, Mermaid Avenue, has testified to the redemptive propensities of love in their latest single, Darkest Hour, taken from their third album, which is due for release in 2023.

The crooned country twang with the heart-wrenchingly executed vibrato in the vocals beside the meandering blues of the guitars and flourishing piano motifs is a potent combination which amplifies the message in the uninhibitedly romantic lyricism to the nth degree.

What Mr Darcy is to literature, Mermaid Avenue is to the airwaves. Any fans of Trudy and the Romance will want to sink into the cinematic sincerity of this serenade time and time again. It’s not country as you’ve known it before; Mermaid Avenue could never be so assimilative in their autonomously scintillating style.

Darkest Hour is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cut Me Loose: Danny Smart moves on from a past lover on Unwind

Posted on 29 October 2022

Wishing for a happier time after so much sadness whilst dealing with a shattered romance, Danny Smart puts his smart shirt on and is ready to Unwind from it all with a sensational performance.

Danny Smart is a Barnsley, UK-based blues-rock solo singer-songwriter and music producer who assembles those delicious gems to swim in forever.

”I just play guitar and write songs. Sometimes work on big boats.” ~ Danny Smart

Taking us into a whole new world of possibilities when two hearts know the right course, Danny Smart is rather brilliant on Unwind and shall stimulate many emotions we all forgot about.

Unwind from Barnsley, UK-based blues-rock solo singer-songwriter Danny Smart is one of the more memorable tracks which will take you down memory lane. Soaked in with so much care and love, this is a tremendous single which is a fantastic listen and is surely one of the more ear-stirring releases the world is likely to hear in 2022.

Listen up to this fine song on Spotify and view more vibes on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen