Album Review: Blitz Kids - Decisions EP

At approximately 1 minute and 53 seconds into the third track, titled ‘The Comedian’, on Blitz Kids latest EP release, there is a section of the song that sends a tingle down my spine every time I listen to it. It’s not some blood curdling screaming vocals or a new electronic beat that will get dance floors shifting, but instead its purely Joe James’s vocals. After listening to the EP in its entirety, it is strange to think that such a young vocalist can express and display a voice that sounds so incredibly well seasoned and well kept. And there is no better way to describe the band as a whole other than one that sound so tight and fit so well together.

One of the factors that does impress me with ‘Decisions’ is that each song has a completely different personality and charisma style to the next. Almost like something out of a Tarantino film’s character list, the variety of the songs expands and constantly changes throughout each listen to engross and excite the listener. Whereas this attack on the song writing front may drop dead for other bands, it works incredibly successfully for the Nantwich quintet. In essence, Blitz Kids overall sound is difficult to explain. The best I can come up with, after repeatedly wracking my brains and scrolling endlessly through my iTunes for some sort of effective comparison is Biffy Clyro’s Infinity Land-era material. However, this link is only just a drop in the Blitz Kid’s think-tank. And what a lovely mould and construction of songs the band has indeed.

‘An Eye for a Diamond’ is not your average, everyday song that gets churned out from a single band practice. The song really demonstrates the amount of ideas that have been swilling in the formerly-known-as-Rig-Up-Explosive musicians and I often see this song as a Frankenstein combination of a lot of ideas. That might omit a series of bad imagery and negative thoughts to the readers of this review; but don’t let it. The song, in itself, is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s almost as if it chooses to evolve and move and dispossess itself to keep any fortunate listeners on their toes. When you have it sussed out, it wriggles out of your mind-grasp and merges into something quite different. And this is only the beginning of Blitz Kids fabulous EP release.

Opener of the record ‘Ink Blot in a Blood Clot’ is a fantastic choice of welcoming song. It doesn’t choose to cause the listener to feel awkward or shy, but instead eases them into the proceedings, whilst still keeping the ‘clever rock’ integrity of the rest of the songs. The opening drum beat welcomes you to the dual onslaught of guitar riffs and some may see this as such a too bold statement, but the riffs encountered on this track sound absolutely massive. As simple as they may well be (I wouldn’t know as I can’t play guitar, at all) the band pull them off to such a professional standard of quality. This level of standards oozes through the record and expresses itself passionately on ‘Tell Me What Do You See’. You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone not willing to thumb-drum along to the never-ending marching rhythm of the floor tom drums and the way that drummer Eddie Hawx seems to dance the drumstick across the top of the crash cymbal.

The intro of the closer of the EP ‘The Matador, The Rogue, The Thief’ would go spookily well with a very sped-up horse chase straight out of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and at a point you could feel a vague sense of a Wild Western theme song in the wind in the continuous stamping of Hawx again on the drums. However, at a quick pace the band drag you back to the ‘clever rock’ essence of the guitars continuing to excite and not keeping straight and basic lines. Again, the praise for vocalist Joe James is never enough as he duets harmoniously with guitarist Jono Yates during the ‘catchy-beyond-belief’ chorus of “Up up up and away we go/this is the city that is so-so”. For all the ‘old-skool-fanz of the band’ who remember their earlier work, the conclusion of the song echoes a similar hint of ‘Veaureil’, a song released under their earlier title Rig Up Explosive. And before you all know it, the EP is over. To which I found myself to feel both ecstatic (to which I stuck the record back on again, and again, and again) and sorrow-filled (Due to it seeming a bit too short and for the want of more material).

To summarise it up: Tight band. Incredibly talented vocalist. Fantastic EP. Buy a copy for ONLY £2.99. Go to a show. They deserve hype. Backed hard.

5/5

'Decisions' EP by Blitz Kids is available now through LAB Records' Digital store here.

Blitz Kids on Myspace

Andy Touch