Bleeker – Erase You (Five Seven
Music)
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| Bleeker - Erase You |
Release Date: Out Now
I’ve been waiting for what feels
like an age for Canadian trio Bleeker to release this album and the
anticipation has been making me crazy. Luckily, debut LP ‘Where’s Your Money’
hits hard and true from the get-go so all that waiting was worthwhile. ‘Highway’
kicks things off with huge rock chops but also the pop sensibilities of a chart
topping hit as the guitars bounce, the drums ping and those vocals swagger and
swoon just enough to make you want to break in to a carefully choreographed
dance routine. The swaggering continues on ‘Free’ as they sing of the freedom
of breaking away from that relationship that drags you down – this is the tune
to walk out of your shitty, dead end office job to while you flip over the
in-trays and smash the computers.
There’s a theme of escapism and
of breaking free on this album and ‘Getting Out’ is another example of this as
those classic rock riffs kick hard and Bleeker channel Reef and Jet in all
their pomp and posturing. Title track ‘Erase You’ takes things to a harder,
more 70s place as the influences of metal, prog and rock hit you square in the
face and suddenly you want to be right in the middle of that sweaty mosh pit,
swaying with the masses, part of something bigger and better than you could
ever be on your own. The guitar work is excellent and that voice just rasps and
roars so a bill with Wolfmother and the Foo Fighters would be entirely natural.
‘I’m Not Laughing Now’ the band take a more indie-pop ballad approach which is
a fine song but I came here to rock so I’m pleased when ‘Still Got Love’ kicks
in with a grinding, hypnotic circular riff that is perfect driving music and a
real head bobber.
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| Bleeker - Sexy beasts |
There’s an element of surprise
when the next track turns out to be a punked up garage version of Elvis
Costello’s ‘Radio Radio’ but it still sounds so fresh and relevant that it
kinda works. Scratch that, it totally works. And then, well then it’s time to
rock. ‘Where’s Your Money’ combines the campness of the Darkness with the chug
of ACDC and it completely works so just strap it on rock out with your cock out
(or other genitals, this music does not discriminate). ‘Emergency’ is slick
indie-rock with a stop start rhythm and some cave singing while ‘Close My Eyes’
is a relatively run of the mill rock ballad with a piano riff and a bit of a
nod to Bon Jovi.
The album closes off on ‘Every
Time You Call’ which keeps the rock motif going well and underlines the band’s
ability to rock hard whilst keeping an eye on the melody to keep you hooked in.
All in all, totally worth waiting for although if you made this an 8 track
album and lost the last three tracks you wouldn’t be missing out on much.
Bleeker, I suspect, will be one of those bands that just need a cross-over
single and some hard touring to make it but it will all come down to their live
shows and from what I hear they are pretty legendary.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/BleekerOfficial/?fref=ts
Live Dates:
3rd March – Maxwell’s
Concerts & Events, Waterloo
4th March – The
Pheonix Concert Theatre, Toronto w/Luke Austin
14th May – Somerset
Amphitheater, Somerset
21st May – Rock On the
Range, Columbus