Blues Pills’ fourth aims for a boundary-less and expectation free trip.

Release Date: 2nd August 2024

Label: Throwdown Entertainment/ BMG.

Format: Digital / CD / LP (incl bone white and splatter options )

“With this album we truly let ourselves be free, leaving all the boundaries and expectations behind to write music we love. We wanted to capture the raw and authentic feeling from when we play live on an album yet pushing ourselves to create and write the best work we’ve ever done.“

A statement of intent if ever there were one that sees Blues Pills’ fourth album charge from the blocks with a passion and a hip swinging swagger, underlined by singer Elin Larsson’s pregnancy giving an extra shot of adrenaline to the recording sessions.

Eleven prime and vital cuts see their sound refined from the very raw early days when you could almost smell the fizz of the amps amidst the crackling and intense musical offerings. These days, Elin Larsren is a fully fledged mother, baby cradled in one hand, mic in the other and the sound much more polished . yet the bite remains, particularly in the lyrical observations, much built from personal experience and reflection. Lives move on and change, so does the music.

The title track is a fiery opening with Elin declaring in a further statement of intent how she just don’t give a damn no more in a passionate diatribe. To whom the lyric is directed, well, they’re left with a clear message! What happens I guess when you lose the only thing worth fighting for.

The pumping heavy bass chug of Don’t You Love It builds into a catchy chorus as the commercial appeal proves a contrast to the moody and late night lazy tempo – almost Blues Pills in dub soul mode – in Like A Drug where for one moment you’d swear Claire Torry had crept in to reprise The Great Gig In The Sky. However, the anger resurface in Somebody Better (the admittance “I was foolish when I was young” coming in the atmospheric intro) and Holding Me Back, where the odd profanity emphasises the case.

Crooning through Back On That Horse Again and Top Of The Sky adds a cabaret smooch diversion, before Shadows kicks in with a swampy bluesy groove; all lo-fi and deep baritone creating an ominous vibe. The reluctance to get back on that horse again, whatever horse that may be, is a heartfelt plea and accompanied with a less is more solo that’s about feel rather than dexterity.

Teeming with reflections on life and growing with telling lines popping up throughout the lyrics, Birthday almost feels like an outpouring or bout of therapy. A snapshot of life in Blues Pills in 2024.

The Happy F**king Birthday tour runs October through to December

Here’s Piggyback Ride:

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