Blow - Blow by Blow 2

Blow – Blow by Blow

10629878_1469313953320989_7054784113628989433_nBlow is the name of the band. Blow by Blow the name of the record. Blow by name, blow by nature, because the debut album by this London three-piece doesn’t half pack one helluva powerful punch.

Blow is lead singer and guitarist Toby O’Connor, bassist Andy Shorten – two men who have previously seen action with The Volts – and Adam Ant‘s drummer, Jola. They formed earlier on this year and a few short months later, with the able assistance of Simon Trought at Soup Studios in Limehouse, East London, have recorded and produced their first long playing record.

Blow by Blow just swaggers into view with reckless insouciance. Its heart may well belong to 1950’s rock n roll but its soul surely lies in the the following decade and the more vicious, snarling fury of garage punk. Forging a link between Link Wray, The Sonics and The Spades, it sounds like the product of a band who aren’t in the mood to hang around wasting precious time.

Lean, taut and brutally simple, Blow by Blow spins on the axis of O’Connor’s frantic guitar riffs and sneering rock howl – trapped somewhere between Gene Vincent and Roky Erickson – propelled by a stomping rhythm section in which Jola is cast as a modern-day Moe Tucker. And just like all great rock n roll records Blow by Blow doesn’t overstay its welcome. It just comes in, does its job and leaves, having beaten you into quiet, helpless submission.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Listen to Blow by Blow songs on soundcloud

 

God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.