Alnwick & Tyne (Midnight Music)
With
this their third album Blyth Power cast any aspersions to the wind that
they might develop a more rootsy sound after introducing fiddle and accordion
on the last album, by developing a harder edge to their buzzsaw guitar
dominated pop that is now down to a fine art.
This is punkpop territory with the wonderfully descriptive rambling lyrical
tales of man-machine on drums and vocals Josef Porta, all related in a
language of olde England, of squires and masters, lords and ladies, of
gallent men and rogues. The exact meaning of the songs are lost on me,
but the awkwardly strange tales sang with power and passion by porta were
never intended to become tirades and manifestos; rather one man's rather
eccentric and unique vignettes.
Any cracks that might have existed previously in the Blyth Power sound
have now been all but filled with the aid of the exceptional combined
bass and lead guitars of Martin Neish and Jamie Hince, who excel throughout
with a lovely driving wall of sound that has its roughest edges prettied
up by the combined songstress Julie Dalkin (ex of Peel favourites Dan)
and Helen Rush on backing vocals - their contribution to 'Song Of The
Third Cause', where waltz meets pop punk is particularly notable.
An album that's damned consistent, and goes one more step to real recognition
for the delightfully English enigmas that Josef Porta and Blyth Power
truly are.
Sean
McGhee
Rock'n'Reel