The Blessings “Shipwrecked” EP

Amongst all the hype that surrounds some bands, it is indeed a blessing to stumble across a group who just seem to want to be a good rock n roll band. That would certainly be the case for The Blessings who hail from Los Angeles. It is clear that they have a love for old time rock but are not, however, just some kind of retro act.

Sometimes, you hear a song and straight from the off it has a charm that totally endears you to both that song and the band. That’s true of opener “Ran Out Of Teardrops”, which is unashamedly ‘retro’ and has a great Rolling Stones vibe about it. Along with “Born With Horns” and “Mississippi Moon”, they have an overpowering sense of authenticity and a genuine sense of fun. They kind of remind us of The Black Crowes when they first hit the scene, all young and cocky.

The title track “Shipwrecked”, gave us Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’ (which make no mistake, is a great song!), as an ear worm with it’s opening guitar lines. It then grows into a slower, country ballad esque song which is lifted by the soulful lead and backing vocals. Final song, “Come Back Home” is another brooding number with a great swirling organ sound.

This release isn’t stunningly inventive or genre pushing. It is, however, a bloody excellent one. It’s built on the foundations of early rock n roll and proper rhythm and blues music. It’s a record which, when you hear it, you know is being played by musicians who love the sound and have a passion for what they do. A sure sign of a good E.P. is that it feels too short and leaves you wanting more. There are no doubts that The Blessings have achieved that and left us hoping for a full album to be released very soon.