The North American band, Bottle Cap Rockets, brings back the blues to modern rock with their first release, entitled “First Seven”. The production is superb, which shows the contemporary nature of the songs, but they are indeed a trip to the past in Rock N’ Roll. Just like the vocalist sings on the track Black Eldorado, they will take the listener for a ride, back a few decades. This is the first song, a fun, lighthearted, mid-tempo tune, featuring guitar riffs inspired by blues and early hard rock, using a tone that blends with the vocals.
The next song, It’s Ok, is another mid-tempo tune, extremely short, with an uplifting, guitar-ridden melody that contrasts with the darker lyrics, which embrace the more usual heartbreak theme of the blues genre. While the vocal lines on the previous track were more straightforward and simple, this song has some sweet, well placed harmonies.
Hold Out manages to combine progressive influences, delivered by the drums and the bass, with the bluesy guitar riffs and chorus. This song has a 60’s feel, on the gloomier side (maintaining the thematic of It’s Ok), with a guitar riff that reminded me of The Animal’s version of House of the Rising Sun. The vocal harmonies are back, but they sound melancholic this time, and there’s also a fantastic, though short, guitar solo that conveys the sadness of the lyrics. This is, no doubt, the best song on the album.
Can’t Stop the Bleeding is a catchy tune, created by a feedback between an initial bass/drums rhythm and the alternative inclusion of the guitar, as a rebellious reply to that first melody, but entwined together throughout the song. The vocals portray that same attitude, adding some roughness to them that works perfectly, but they’re not really the highlight of the song, it’s the music that really shines, especially when the guitar solo makes its appearance.
Even if there’s no originality in their music, Bottle Cap Rockets manage to create songs that differentiate from each other, they all have their unique flavor, and, something that I find to be an achievement in composition, most of the melodies translate brilliantly the feelings described by the lyrics. So, for those who love blues and hard rock, this is the band for you.
5/6
Review by Elizabeth Stammitti
