It’s been quite some time since Blues Pills toured the UK, and even more since they played Glasgow. Releasing their last album almost two years ago and for a band, at one point who seemed to always be touring here, it’s a long overdue visit from the Swedish-based band and bringing their friends, The Picturebooks with them to open the show. Due to the full-time job, I missed their set which is no great loss because the twice I’ve been subjected to them, they’ve been bloody dreadful.
Whilst G2 has seen busier nights and Blues Pills have headlined bigger rooms in Glasgow, the band appear unnerved by it from the moment they take to the stage. The familiar thunderous intro of “High Class Woman” begins and gets the crowd comfortable, before blending it seamlessly into “Ain’t No Change” as is tradition. People, Blues Pills are back. It’s an immediate reminder of how powerful and dynamic their high-charged bluesy, fuzzy, retro rock is in the live environment. Tight and as energetic as they’ve ever been, they’ve always been a band as comfortable in a small club gig as well as on big festival stages.
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Getting the crowd comfortable, they then delve into the triple hit of the bombastic middle finger to the patriarchy and misogyny in “Proud Woman” as well as “Kiss My Past Goodbye” and “Wish I’d Known” from Holy Moly! And that’s how they handle the rest of the show – a couple from the debut album, a couple from the afore-mentioned latest album with just one Lady in Gold outing in the form of “You Gotta Try”. Whilst a couple of more from that album, such as the title track and their cover of “Elements and Things” would have been welcome, you can’t blame them from leaning on their magnificent debut and wanting to get as much mileage out of their third album, given it was released in 2020 and they’re only now getting the chance to perform the songs.
Whilst those staples like “Black Smoke”, “Bliss” and “Astralplane” continue to impress live, having been subtly re-jigged to sound a bit more rocky to accommodate for only one guitarist in Blues Pills now in the form of mainstay Zack Anderson. Whilst Anderson has never been anything short of impressive with his chops, Dorian Sorriaux’s absence is felt. With Holy Moly! recorded as a quartet, those songs sound more faithful to the album but in the case of the debut album material, all the light and shade is lost from having two guitarists bouncing against each other. Indeed, even as a band, it feels like the heart, the grounding presence of Sorriaux’s laidback virtuoso style is gone. Despite that, they manage to hold the crowd in the palm of their hand for the duration of the set and are bouncing as much as frontwoman, Elin Larsson.
As the band evolve more into retro rock than blues rock, despite the aforementioned lack of light and shade, the songs now sound punchier and fit in line with the new numbers. “Bye Bye Birdy” builds to its incredible crescendo whilst “Dust” acts as a palate cleanser before the final punches of the night. Saving the best for last, “Little Sun” is as moving as ever before Larsson introduces “Devil Man” like she always has, roaring with all her might and giving the room goosebumps. Whilst several comments throughout the night have complimented her pipes, this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Indeed, she hasn’t missed a beat as she runs through her vocal range, hitting tender, high moments as easily as she belts out her screams.
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Performing as well as they ever have, it shows how badly Blues Pills have been missed on these shores and due to come back before the end of the year, the quartet are now simply picking up where they left off whilst showing the growth that may not have been needed but is welcome nonetheless. Entertaining and showing how heavy blues can be as well as the intersection where psych and fuzz come in, there’s a sense of rejuvenation and catharsis in the way they perform, as if shedding their skin. They’ve always been a confident band and as they find their feet in their altered line-up, it won’t be long before they’re back to making every show better than the last.
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