Blue
States first took shape in 1997 when Andy Dragazis and a couple
of mates started writing music together. It was not however
until Andy relocated to Brighton that things really started
taking off for his project, with the then new label Memphis
Industries releasing his first EP in 1998. Followed four more
between 1998 and 1999, including the seminal My Girl
and Walkabout. With these releases, Dragazis was beginning
to gain a reputation on the music circuit, and his first album,
Nothing Changes Under The Sun, released a year later,
only confirmed the talent of the man.
Nearly two years after Nothing Changes Under The Sun
hit the shelves, Blue States return as a full six piece band,
complete with a full time vocalist, a record deal with XL Recordings,
and a second album. Far from turning his back on the delicate
ambiences of his first album, Dragazis has developed a more
mature and diverse version of the soundscapes explored on the
first Blue States album. On top of the cinematic instrumentals
moments that paved Nothing…, Man Mountain
also features the vocal talents of new Blue States collaborator
Tahita “Ty” Bulmer on no less than five tracks.
Born in the UK, although she grew up in Europe and the US, Tahita
and Andy met in Brighton and hit it off straight away. The first
writing session resulted in the beautiful Only Today,
which combines Dragazis’s Morricone-esque atmospherics
with the slight soul/jazz touch of Bulmer’s bittersweet
vocals. If vocal elements are not new to Blue States, Bulmer’s
presence indicates however a departure from the previous album.
The presence of four other musicians impacts equally on the
fragile sonic balance achieved on the first album. Nothing
Changes Under The Sun was intense partly due to Dragazis
playing most of the instruments himself, but it sometimes lacked
the live feeling that some of the bands who have emerged since
then have achieved. Metro Sound, the opening number
and first excerpt of the album, makes the transition between
old and new Blue States by remaining close to Arion
or Golden Touch, but progressively, Man Mountain
asserts its own personality. If What We’ve Won,
which follows, is as reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins as Spit
& Soar was, it is somewhat more ambitious, with the
melody slowly rising to the magnificent chorus in a swirl or
guitars. Later on, Season Song provides the most intense
and impressive moment of this record. Recorded with a choir
of East London and Essex school children, Season Song
is in essence close to 4 Hero’s Les Fleur and
could prove to become the band’s best-known track to date.
This album was also for Dragazis the opportunity to arrange
strings for the first time, and Man Mountain has discreet
orchestral touches all the way through, giving his cinematic
approach a bolder feel than in the past. Tracks such as Metro
Sound, Bare Bones, Doublespeak or Halfway
Highway see Blue States integrating strings with their
music to perfection, increasing the evocative power of Dragazis’s
composition dramatically.
Despite the major changes experienced in the band’s structure,
the music remains a touching an effective as ever. The fine
melodies crafted by Andy Dragazis benefit the vocal imputs of
Tahita Bulmer, while the band contributes to expand Blue States’s
effortless ambiences. Man Mountain will be the soundtrack
of the autumn.
5/5 |
