So full disclosure I run a record label and I’ve come to an agreement with Blood Makes Noise to let me promote releases every week. The idea is every week I will present a playlist with some new Mint 400 Records music and what I think inspired our songwriters. This week is a wide range of genre’s starting with garage rock from Glasgow, Scotland Black Cat Revue, North New Jersey’s mellow indie rock group Rosey Bengal and finally Boston’s electro indie pop darlings This Bliss.
We start off with Black Cat Revue and I think the only question becomes are they more inspired by the 60’s garage rock movement or the 90’s revival of garage rock? The two bands I compare Black Cat Revue to here are The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the 13th Floor Elevators on this playlist but I could easily see throwing in The Who, The Seeds, The Yardbirds or newer bands like Black Lips or The Hives. The band, though to me, seem to be more purists inspired by the original stuff. The tones of the guitars and cadence of the vocals make this apparent.
Next up is Rosey Bengal and I have a hard time characterizing them sometimes. They started out years ago as having more country twang and something like Tom Petty mixed with psychedelic blues and bar rock but have grown over the years to incorporate much more than that. This newest track to me feels like it mixes 70’s influence of bands like Steely Dan and Chicago with 80’s pop and more. I feel like Rosey Bengal is getting to that point where they have come into their own and figured out their sound which is unique to them. That’s a great place to be.
Finally from Boston is This Bliss with their sophomore album Retroshade. This band as well has grown from their first release to this one. In spots it feels darker like the first track I picked which is “Everything Is (Retroshade)”, aside from the light guitar the tones add an ominous feel that to me reminds me of the modern Nine Inch Nails soundtrack stuff. On other tracks the band gets very poppy with songs like “Friend” although the lyrics have bite . The guitar and vocals for me are what differentiate This Bliss from the peers. They have moved away from some of their 90’s roots on this new album and have embraced more modern rhythms and vibe. Overall though if you enjoyed their previous work, this album feels like the next logical songwriting progression for the band.
- Neil Sabatino