Blues Pills – Holy Moly!

8/10

Holy Moly, indeed! Blues Pills third album really is quite something. To one familiar with the bands previous releases, you know them as a really good retro rock band with a strong blues rock touch, that apart from the obvious influences by early 70’s hard rock like  Captain Beyond, Zephyr and – of course – Led Zeppelin, also bears resemblances to more recent colleagues like Rival Sons and Graveyard. Holy Moly!, though, takes them a giant leap forward and broadens their sound quite beautifully. Already in the opening track Proud Woman, I immediately get a strong soul nerve that reminds me of Aretha Franklin! This soul vein runs through the entire album, and goes even deeper in the powerful ballad California, which feels so much 1970 it makes my bones chill. And Elin Larsson has never sounded so much like Tina Turners granddaughter as she does on this album.

Apart from the old school hard rock, the retro rock scene and the soul, there is also a trace of recent day pop icons with great voices. I can hear Duffy, Amy Whinehouse and Adele somewhere in this mix. It’s a really special vibe, since you don’t hear hard rock bands of today pick that much out of current day pop scene. But that’s probably what makes the album become so damn powerful. ‘Cause when you mix the soul, the hard rock, the retro rock and the pop, it all blends beautifully, wether it’s ends up in powerhouse rockers like Low Road or Dreaming My Life Away, the rhythmic Proud Woman, the bluesy Dust, Carole King like ballad Song from a Morning Dove or the magnificient masterclass California. And if anybody gets frightened by all this talk about soul and pop, you can relax. Holy Moly! is a pure rock ‘n’ roll album, and it rocks the socks off everyone to the point that I can dub this album of the year, so far! And it’s the best Blues Pills album so far, too. Way to go, Blues Pills!

Artist: Blues Pills
Title: Holy Moly!
Label: Nuclear Blast
Date of release: 21/8-20
Time: 41,32
Rating: 8/10
Standout track: California