The Blue Lena – Darkwood
The Blue Lena, a new/ up & coming English seven-piece who proudly and impressively carry southern and heavy Americana influences, have, on the back of their excellent 3-track EP Severnlands, now delivered their 12 track debut album, Darkwood.
Built around the talents and songwriting partnership of singer Peter Yeomans (High Treason) and guitarist Nick Singleton (The Firebyrds, 3Sixty), both of whom have previous live, touring and album experience, the pair started to write and record together during the pandemic lockdown periods.
Messrs Yeomans & Singleton then smartly surrounded themselves with a strong cast of trusted and known/ previous band musicians – namely Martin Raggett (bass), Richie Yeates (second guitar, vocal harmonies), Jon Clayton (drums), Matt Raynor (keys, vocal harmonies), and Fi Channon (harmony & lead vocals, percussion) – to form The Blue Lena.
The results are a perfect debut album platform for Blue Lena to showcase what they are all about, which is a different musical time and space where Free were a southern rock band (which is how the band describe their style/ approach) peppering their sound with blues, rock and country, while Christine McVie & Stevie Nicks provide backing harmonies to accompany lyrics on those blues and southern staples of life, love and loss.
'Last Chance Saloon' showcases those southern rocking influences from the off.
An up-tempo "gone too soon" salute over a raised glass of southern comfort with a splash of honky-tonk and dash of Black Crowes for good measure, the opener also benefits from some nifty riffing, well-arranged backing/ harmony vocals (with Fi Channon well up in the mix), Matt Raynor’s effective keyboard work and a clever change-of-pace middle 8.
'Sanctity,' a purposefully delivered funky blues rocker that demanded attention as lead-off single, carries a psychedelically tinged vibe and, like, 'Last Chance Saloon,' a nice gear change middle 8. A true highlight.
Built around the talents and songwriting partnership of singer Peter Yeomans (High Treason) and guitarist Nick Singleton (The Firebyrds, 3Sixty), both of whom have previous live, touring and album experience, the pair started to write and record together during the pandemic lockdown periods.
Messrs Yeomans & Singleton then smartly surrounded themselves with a strong cast of trusted and known/ previous band musicians – namely Martin Raggett (bass), Richie Yeates (second guitar, vocal harmonies), Jon Clayton (drums), Matt Raynor (keys, vocal harmonies), and Fi Channon (harmony & lead vocals, percussion) – to form The Blue Lena.
The results are a perfect debut album platform for Blue Lena to showcase what they are all about, which is a different musical time and space where Free were a southern rock band (which is how the band describe their style/ approach) peppering their sound with blues, rock and country, while Christine McVie & Stevie Nicks provide backing harmonies to accompany lyrics on those blues and southern staples of life, love and loss.
'Last Chance Saloon' showcases those southern rocking influences from the off.
An up-tempo "gone too soon" salute over a raised glass of southern comfort with a splash of honky-tonk and dash of Black Crowes for good measure, the opener also benefits from some nifty riffing, well-arranged backing/ harmony vocals (with Fi Channon well up in the mix), Matt Raynor’s effective keyboard work and a clever change-of-pace middle 8.
'Sanctity,' a purposefully delivered funky blues rocker that demanded attention as lead-off single, carries a psychedelically tinged vibe and, like, 'Last Chance Saloon,' a nice gear change middle 8. A true highlight.
The contrasting, pop-tastic 'Only When She’s Dancing' is a ridiculously infectious crossover number that, in a fairer musical age, would be air-played to death both sides of the pond, from mainstream radio to AOR rock channels.
'Nashville Song' presents yet another shade of the Blue in the Lena name; slow, soulful and yes, decidedly Nashville, it features an impassioned and genuinely emotive vocal from Peter Yeomans and some lovely six-string touches from Nick Singleton.
"It’s all in the letter!" reflectively cries Yeomans; it’s also all in the construction of the song, and its delivery. (This is a band who have a nice sense and understanding of dynamics).
'The Wrong Side of Midnight' returns to the band’s southern influences.
A mid-tempo rocker, the number wins out with, again, well-considered harmony vocals and highly effective call & answer punctuations (someone has done their homework on vocal arrangements).
The piano backed 'Can You Feel The Rain' is another fully harmonised, southern AOR winner (think 80s era 38 Special) while following number, the funky and quirky-riffed 'Something 'Bout The Way,' flexes plenty of southern rock-blues muscle.
The moodier 'Undertow' is the album’s southern blues moment and as such stands proud as another highlight. Underpinned by a subtle but pulsating bass line, the song features a fittingly bluesy vocal from Peter Yeomans that’s accompanied, once again, by perfectly weighted backing harmony vocals.
The heavy country and slightly Skynyrd-esque 'Long Way Home' presents itself as a lesson in how to perfectly marry southern sensibilities and harmonies before past relationship number 'Frozen' offers itself up as the album’s southern rock ballad, with vocal lead shared by Peter Yeomans and Fi Channon.
Taking it a further step down in tempo and weight (but not gravitas) is Nashville blues number 'Sometimes.'
Peter Yeomans again delivers a genuinely emotive vocal, backed by those ever-present harmonies, blues organ and some perfectly placed, blues crying licks from Nick Singleton.
'What Do You Want' rocks the album to an upbeat, southern styled conclusion in much the same way as 'Last Chance Saloon' opened it; the perfect bookends to a seriously impressive debut from an equally impressive band.
Well recorded, expertly mixed by Peter Newdeck and extremely well-performed by a septet who include a dovetailing pairing that know how to write a song or twelve, Darkwood is a southern styled, Americana rock shaped winner.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
'Nashville Song' presents yet another shade of the Blue in the Lena name; slow, soulful and yes, decidedly Nashville, it features an impassioned and genuinely emotive vocal from Peter Yeomans and some lovely six-string touches from Nick Singleton.
"It’s all in the letter!" reflectively cries Yeomans; it’s also all in the construction of the song, and its delivery. (This is a band who have a nice sense and understanding of dynamics).
'The Wrong Side of Midnight' returns to the band’s southern influences.
A mid-tempo rocker, the number wins out with, again, well-considered harmony vocals and highly effective call & answer punctuations (someone has done their homework on vocal arrangements).
The piano backed 'Can You Feel The Rain' is another fully harmonised, southern AOR winner (think 80s era 38 Special) while following number, the funky and quirky-riffed 'Something 'Bout The Way,' flexes plenty of southern rock-blues muscle.
The moodier 'Undertow' is the album’s southern blues moment and as such stands proud as another highlight. Underpinned by a subtle but pulsating bass line, the song features a fittingly bluesy vocal from Peter Yeomans that’s accompanied, once again, by perfectly weighted backing harmony vocals.
The heavy country and slightly Skynyrd-esque 'Long Way Home' presents itself as a lesson in how to perfectly marry southern sensibilities and harmonies before past relationship number 'Frozen' offers itself up as the album’s southern rock ballad, with vocal lead shared by Peter Yeomans and Fi Channon.
Taking it a further step down in tempo and weight (but not gravitas) is Nashville blues number 'Sometimes.'
Peter Yeomans again delivers a genuinely emotive vocal, backed by those ever-present harmonies, blues organ and some perfectly placed, blues crying licks from Nick Singleton.
'What Do You Want' rocks the album to an upbeat, southern styled conclusion in much the same way as 'Last Chance Saloon' opened it; the perfect bookends to a seriously impressive debut from an equally impressive band.
Well recorded, expertly mixed by Peter Newdeck and extremely well-performed by a septet who include a dovetailing pairing that know how to write a song or twelve, Darkwood is a southern styled, Americana rock shaped winner.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ