It's sweet how Little Brother Eli describe their first EP as a "musical lovechild". Formed by Alex Grew and Joshua Rigal, the main writing team, the project is now a fully-fledged band for live performances, so you can stop your Black Keys/White Stripes comparisons there. They make blues-rock, but not in such a minimalist way. The vocals to opening track 'Animal Fair' definitely have an element of raw blues to them, an a decent portion of soul too. The song is a confident and bold first statement. It can't be easy making a song about animals into a modern blues powerhouse and not sounding stupid, but they manage it, passing the test with flying colours and a great guitar sound.
Following this mighty start, 'Awkward Positions' is something of a let-down. It's still ambling around the same genres but sounds just too clean. You'd expect Jools Holland to be a fan of this one, and that just about says it all. It could be better; some of the spooky effects are good, but this more sanitised and less real. If someone came up with the phrase "landfill blues-rock" then this might fit the bill. All is soon forgotten though, and Little Brother Eli show us what they can do on 'When She Sings', a more authentic sounding song that's doused in more of that scorching guitar work; surely one of their best attributes. They mix in some nice tempo and style changes too, and this adds variety. It's a big song, much like the opener. They could be in line for very good things. And anyway, as Meatloaf one sang, two out of three ain't bad.
Little Brother Eli's website
Stream or buy the EP
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But Awkward Positions is my favourite track!! :(
ReplyDeleteHa! Ah sorry. I guess that's where taste comes into this whole thing!
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