You can start most music reviews by throwing in a couple of soundbites or generic labels to describe what’s going on. Not so with Blueox. In fact it might be easier to mention what they have left out, so full is this album of sonic gems and cool references, neat infusions and unexpected references.
They seem to vibe with an early seventies West Coast psychedelic sound but it also touches on some cosmic country honesty and smooth conscious soul soundscapes.
Black Star Road has a drifting Doorsian quality, especially if Graham Nash had been sitting in on vocals that day, Panic Attack is a heavy dose of acid rock and Walk Tall is a funky, frantic and fun groover running on Latin beats, Santana-esque riffs and imposing bass lines.
Blueox even find room for a cover of Pink Floyd’s Fearless which is fairly faithful, perhaps even reaching new heights, more delicate, richer, lusher and the rockier bits hitting home even more resoundingly.
It’s a wonderfully unexpected album, one that both understands those eras and scenes and those ever-evolving musical styles and gives us a glimpse of what it might sound like today if those pioneers were only just finding their feet. And I have to say, that sounds like a more preferable musical world to me than the one that I actually find myself in.
Has anyone got the number of a reliable time travel company?
