Blues Pills — Birthday (Throwdown Entertainment/BMG)
There’s always been a lustful quality to Elin Larsson’s captivating tone that’s long since captured the hearts of those hopelessly tied to the golden age of 70s blues rock.
But there’s much more to this special talent than that voice.
On stage she creates an aura of feisty invincibility that brings Blues Pills’ dynamic soundscape to life.
And off it the softly spoken yet charismatic singer songwriter assumes the role of understated, unassuming and utterly entrancing creative.
Larsson’s split personality is far from affected: it’s often like a switch is flicked between self-effacing artist and flamboyant performer as soon as she hears the call of the crowd.
And Birthday is the best example yet of Blues Pills embracing that juxtaposition between the public and the private, the provocative and the protective.
Its mix of powerful, passionate rallying cries and soulful, introspective ballads showcases an assured frontwoman at her compelling peak.
Maybe motherhood has emboldened Larsson — Birthday was recorded while she was heavily pregnant — or perhaps she’s long since manifested this career-defining tour de force.
Sonically this is far from Blues Pills’ heaviest work and yet it’s a weighty body of work: the inciteful narratives and expansive production are unlike anything the band’s attempted before.
Birthday is a true celebration Larsson and her band of blues-soaked brothers.
And everyone’s invited to the party.
Happy Birthday
Amy Winehouse meets Paloma Faith on the ballsy Bad Choices as Larsson pitches herself as a pop rock provocateur for the ages.
Birthday might be Blues Pills’ most polished work to date — Grammy-nominated producer Freddy Alexander has ironed out any rough edges — but that’s not to say it lacks the band’s trademark flair.
It’s simply a case of the stars aligning: this record’s a bold realisation of what’s possible when the shackles are off and the focus is narrowed.
Top Of The Sky is a beautiful ballad that shimmers with soul from start to finish.
Somebody Better is an emotional deep dive as Larsson reveals ‘You fuck with my brain/making me go insane’.
But Shadows reveals the rebooted Blues Pills at their brilliant best as that bold production and booming confidence manifests itself in the most ambitious track here.
Larsson insists ‘I’m going to let my spirit fly/it’s my time’. And surely it is.
Birthday is a rebirth.
A glorious new chapter in the story of these swaggering Swedes.
And the album that establishes Larsson as the shining light of the blues rock scene.