It’s been quite a while now since Londoner’s Bleach Blood first started making waves with their first EP – ‘The Young Heartbreakers Club’. And after teasing fans with three singles over the last year or so, Jamie Jazz and his mob are finally set to release a proper dose of their heady, punked up, and oh so joyful indie power-pop in the form of debut album ‘All The Sides Of A Circle’.
Opener and title track ‘All The Sides Of A Circle’ sees a spoken word delivered by Jamie Jazz over swelling chords, before breakneck riffs light the blue touch paper that really brings the record to life. Things only get better on ‘H.O.P.E’, a song complete with boisterous gang vocals over an angular grooving 80s soundtrack and the first of several great bass lines.
There aren’t any points where ‘All The Sides Of A Circle’ drop below its smile inducing upbeat tone. But with rambunctious and instantly life affirming shout along chorus hooks, ‘Pleased To Meet You’ and later ‘Let Your Heart Sing’ both provide the album’s feelgood euphoric high points.
Most recent single ‘London In The Rain’ is the closest things get to a downer. But even here Jazz delivers a breakup song that replaces emotion and bitterness with optimism and reason. All backed by purposeful guitars that skip along with interspersed driving drums.
There’s more spoken word vocals on the super indie ‘P.E.A.C.E’, that peaks into a big jangling fun chorus that’s kind of reminiscent of acts like The Holloways on absolute top form. Meanwhile ‘East LDN Dance Party’ combines a brilliantly judged build with a chaotically blended array of genres, and time signatures with delightfully eclectic results.
Chilled out reflective vibes then take over on ‘Destroy Us, Destory Eveything’ underpinned by echoing synths and meandering guitar lines to create a track much larger in scope and scale than anything else on the album. This spills over onto the shuffling drums and swirling synths of ‘Love Is Dead’, before ‘Dancing On Broken Glass’ brings the record to a close with its most out and out punk rock moment.
In ‘All The Sides Of A Circle’, Bleach Blood have produced something quite rare in modern music, a record that resonates unremittingly and unapologetically with positivity. Jazz has created both a band and a sound with such an enthusing vibrancy and charm that this whole album just begs to be listened to and enjoyed again and again.
4/5
‘All The Sides Of A Circle’ by Bleach Blood is out now on Transmission Recordings.
Bleach Blood links: Facebook|Twitter|Tumblr
Words by Dane Wright (@MrDaneWright)
