Some bands seem to lead a charmed life, they form, hit the big time, part as friends and then ride off into the sunset. For every band that happens to though, there are dozens of bands that end up as a clash of egos ending in splits and acrimony. Occasionally however a band breaks up but something draws one or two of the members back together again and that’s what happened in Gypsyblood’s case.
Gypsyblood was formed in 2009 when long-time friends and former band mates Adam James and Kyle Victor healed the wounds of their previous band’s breakup, initiated by Victor storming off stage after the last song and hitchhiking home. Making up turned out to be a very good thing as they managed to write an incredible 50 songs in 2 months.
Rather than record in a normal run of the mill studio they went to an old Chicago building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (the greatest American architect of all time). The songs, influenced by the likes of Pavement, Jesus & The Mary Chain and Guided By Voices were captured on equipment normally used for film audio recording and the faint sounds of the bustling neighbourhood add a ghostly backing to the tracks.
An introduction to the record label Sargent House by Dave Davison of Maps & Atlases meant that they could release the tracks they recorded as the album “Cold In The Guestway” and we have one of those tracks, “Take Your Picture” for you here.
From a start that reminds me of an old 50′s track we’re hit by a glorious wall of sonic heaviness. Distorted vocals, powerful guitars and thumping drums all meld together to form something that sounds so familiar you’ll swear you’ve heard it before. Their influences shine through, yet this is Gypsyblood taking those sounds and redefining them in their own unique, hazy style.
If you want to catch them they’ll be touring this spring, including a stop a SXSW.
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