Another 'The' Band...
It would be best, in this review, if the comparison to another band was made right at the beginning; therefore allowing you to make instant opinions on this band that you're about to read about. This is not always a good thing - at first, so I will keep you in suspense.
The Blueskins' first EP is called Magic Road, and is surprisingly good, considering this reviewers lack of interest in new music. The Blueskins, following the seemingly popular traditions of the music facade today, are guys, guys with long hair. The fact that they are guys may not be a surprise, but the second point surely sent off a little light in your head, pointing to the current trend of "the in-thing".
Looking at musical appearance should give you the other quality that the mass army of 'The' bands share, amongst themselves that classic raw guitar sound. This allows me to go onto that specific band comparison, and don't die on me now: Led Zeppelin.
Magic Road starts up with "Number 23", so-called due to it being about an obsession with the afforementioned number. I'll be the first to say 'Alrighty then'. The song itself opens with a nice daddy of a riff on guitar, and then the bass and drums come into the song, followed by the plantesque vocals. One thing the Blueskins do nicely is backing vocals, particularly nice harmonisation, as this song pleasantly shows. The song chugs along at a fair pace, with no real change in speed anywhere. "Number 23" is followed by "Can't Get Down", which really is more of the same. Not that its really a bad thing. The technical ability on guitar is also demonstrated more on this song.
A short interlude then occurs, with the less-than-a-minute-song, "Love My Guitar". Its simple rising chord progression and chorus lyrics of "Love my guitar..." are a sweet little break, before the acoustic guitar of "Ellie Meadows" pipes up. Yes, acoustic guitar. One would think its the start of the slightly clich�d all acoustic song. Just one man, and his trusty piece of natural acoustics. However, not all is as it appears, when the drumkit bursts into the song. This is just as catchy as the first two songs, but its also a quite different, with the continuation of crazy backing vocals and tastes of odd percussion in the distant background. Finally, the music diminishes back to simply acoustic guitar, the punky stylings of "Lager and Lime" wander into your speakers.
"Lager and Lime" is the final song on the Magic Road EP, another upbeat song for you to enjoy.
The Blueskins? Plenty of technical ability shown here, as well as their nice use of vocalists, adding to their overall appeal. They also have the raw sound, but don't fit in totally with the gang of 'The' bands that is being formed right now. "Pretty damn nice," says I.