This is an interesting release…
Jangly strummed guitars and a hypnotic building vocal that leads into an insistent groove of a chorus and then stands off again: there’s something primal and lo-hi pop about ‘Around Around’ the opening track from Voodoo in Blue’s debut release. It leaves you hanging nicely. ‘Blue’ that follows is more plaintive and inquisitive with a soft vocal overlaid on a nice acoustic bed of guitar, it’s music to lead you somewhere, to draw you into its confidence and envelop you in a warmth that slowly drowns you, slipping deeper, but always allowing you to rise gently for air.
Voodoo in Blue is a new band from Perth western Australia that builds from a point distant in time through vaguely dreamt Americana landscapes underscored with an essential blues with touches of darkness that on tracks like ‘Dysthymia’ (a term for long term depression) have an almost low-lying early 80’s UK gothic new wave spirit like The Sisters of Mercy were crewed with personnel from The Smiths. It’s music to hold you and make you think without forcing you into black or white, just leaving you bobbing about in the grey.
The feeling of melancholy also cuts through tracks like ‘Comb My Hair’ with the lyrics bemoaning being too tired to comb that hair over a sub-Primal Scream funky groove.
‘Goodnight Nadine’ takes a more aggressive approach with a spitting vocal and garage guitars; it soon peaks into a vaguely new age and downcast ‘Small Faces’ trip without the colour or smiles. It’s a standout for us just for its power and potential.
‘Black Satin’ strays into the countryside with its train rolling drums and wailing harp, a deceptively simple way to end and at the same time throw another indefinable ingredient into a mix that clearly will develop further flavour with time.
Voodoo in Blue is one of the most interesting and understatedly accomplished bands we’ve heard in a long while. Listening to this EP is like discovering a new food or taste and whilst you can put a finger on some of the components the freshness and indefinability of the whole dish is what draws you in not the detail or the care in preparation, it’s the combination of the ingredients that make this ‘umami rock’ a taste you’ll want to come back to.
