Blair Jollands - 7 Blood
by John Clarkson
published: 25 / 9 / 2018
Label:
Glowb Records
Format: CD
intro
Versatile and impressive third album from New Zealand-born but London-based composer and singer-songrwriter Blair Jollands
It comes as no surprise to learn that Blair Jollands has composed soundtracks for television and film. The New Zealand-born but for the last twenty years London-based singer-songwriter plays guitar, sitar, piano, trumpet and harmonica on his third album ‘7 Blood’, and it involves fifteen other musicians including backing vocalists, guitarists, organists, saxophonists and violinists. Jollands has drawn frequent comparisons with Nick Cave, and like Cave he has a flair for the lavish and the same preoccupations with redemption, sin and Biblical imagery. “All that we embrace is not enough to save us,” he sings on the sultry, brass-laden ‘Not Enough’, and ‘Jesus died on a Friday/Oh, lower your head” on the stomping and rustic ‘Revelations’. Yet, while Cave is often discordant, Jollands is more pop-oriented, combining this with elements of soul jazz, country and rock. Occasionally, such as on crooning ballad ‘I’ll Remember You’, he packs too much into a tune so that it simply ends up sounding anonymous. When he is on form, however -and mostly he is - then he is excellent. The funk-driven title track kick starts ‘7 Blood’ off to a strident start. About the herbal medicine that helped Jollands recover from Lyme’s Disease, it throws in grinding guitars, orchestrated synths and thunderous vocals. The swooning stand-out track ‘Black Diamond’ is a jazz-tinged anthem with a surprising stop-start ending, while ‘Restless Soul’, which pushes both a rising piano and slithering harmonica to the fore and upon which Jollands pays tribute to his own wandering spirit, brings ‘7 Blood’ to a convincing and powerful close. ‘7 Blood’ is a very impressive record from an eclectic and major talent.
Track Listing:-
1 7 Blood2 I'll Remember You
3 Not Enough
4 Burning Man
5 Black Diamond
6 Mojacar Moon
7 Revelations
8 I Will Carry You
9 Drifting Song
10 Restless Soul
Band Links:-
https://en-gb.facebook.com/blairjollandsmusic/http://blairjollands.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKNMoTJ5Ql2w-mzRhqvGUpA
https://www.instagram.com/blairjollands/
soundcloud
most viewed articles
current edition
Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies - Sala Apolo, Barcelona, 29/11/2023 and La Paqui, Madrid, 30/11/2023Anthony Phillips - Interview
Difford and Tilbrook - Difford and Tilbrook
Rain Parade - Interview
Oldfield Youth Club - Interview
Autumn 1904 - Interview
Shaw's Trailer Park - Interview
Cafe No. 9, Sheffield and Grass Roots Venues - Comment
Pete Berwick - ‘Too Wild to Tame’: The story of the Boyzz:
James Whild Lea - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Marika Hackman - Big SighSerious Sam Barrett - A Drop of the Morning Dew
Rod Stewart and Jools Holland - Swing Fever
Loves - True Love: The Most of The Loves
Ian M Bailey - We Live in Strange Times
Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
Autumn 1904 - Tales of Innocence
Banter - Heroes
Roberta Flack - Lost Takes
Posey Hill - No Clear Place to Fall
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart