Blue Nation - Reflections EP
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As stated, when reviewing blues-rock-soul trio Blue Nation’s 2022 EP Echoes, 4 tracks and 12 minutes doesn’t generally garner the same amount of page space as a full-length album.
But given the Birmingham based band’s penchant for quality over quantity of late, latest EP Reflections is deserving of the same sort of attention Echoes received here at Fabbers Central.
Reflections follows in the indie-tinged, soulful blues-rock footsteps of Echoes, but here the band have taken a deeper dive in terms of emotional content and connection with the everyman (and woman).
The mid-tempo groove of opener 'Strangers' carries a late 60s/ early 70s vibe and just a hint of Cream (no bad thing, and a trait heard on many an earlier Blue Nation number). The song also comes equipped with a melodically shaped chorus that helps tell the lyrical tale of a relationship that has long since lost its lustre, yet continues, even when it probably shouldn’t.
'Every Single Time' has an infectious pop-charm mixed within its retro, soul-bluesy sound; another real-life lyric number (coming out the other side of an abusive relationship), it also wins out by being kept fairly simple in arrangement, bolstered by nifty drum work/ fills.
The downtempo, indie styled rock ballad 'Old Friends' carries both lyrical poignancy (comradeship and being there for someone) and some lovely harmonies from lead vocalist & guitarist Neil Murdoch and bassist & harmony/ backing vocalist Luke Weston (a dovetailing lynchpin of the band’s sound).
The EP closes in fine fashion with the moodier light and grungy shade of 'Hand Me Down,' which sports both a purposeful chorus and funkier, bass plucking middle 8 (the band also have a nice sense of dynamics).
Blue Nation’s last, and to date best, full-length studio album The Kaftan Society (2018) was a solid, classic meets contemporary fusion of the rock-blues-soul sound – but the band’s pre-Echoes pledge to take themselves, and their songs, to the next level seems to be bearing Extended Play fruit.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But given the Birmingham based band’s penchant for quality over quantity of late, latest EP Reflections is deserving of the same sort of attention Echoes received here at Fabbers Central.
Reflections follows in the indie-tinged, soulful blues-rock footsteps of Echoes, but here the band have taken a deeper dive in terms of emotional content and connection with the everyman (and woman).
The mid-tempo groove of opener 'Strangers' carries a late 60s/ early 70s vibe and just a hint of Cream (no bad thing, and a trait heard on many an earlier Blue Nation number). The song also comes equipped with a melodically shaped chorus that helps tell the lyrical tale of a relationship that has long since lost its lustre, yet continues, even when it probably shouldn’t.
'Every Single Time' has an infectious pop-charm mixed within its retro, soul-bluesy sound; another real-life lyric number (coming out the other side of an abusive relationship), it also wins out by being kept fairly simple in arrangement, bolstered by nifty drum work/ fills.
The downtempo, indie styled rock ballad 'Old Friends' carries both lyrical poignancy (comradeship and being there for someone) and some lovely harmonies from lead vocalist & guitarist Neil Murdoch and bassist & harmony/ backing vocalist Luke Weston (a dovetailing lynchpin of the band’s sound).
The EP closes in fine fashion with the moodier light and grungy shade of 'Hand Me Down,' which sports both a purposeful chorus and funkier, bass plucking middle 8 (the band also have a nice sense of dynamics).
Blue Nation’s last, and to date best, full-length studio album The Kaftan Society (2018) was a solid, classic meets contemporary fusion of the rock-blues-soul sound – but the band’s pre-Echoes pledge to take themselves, and their songs, to the next level seems to be bearing Extended Play fruit.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ