Words by Captain’s Bar events manager, Say Something Music label owner and promoter Scott Evans
Fairly fresh to the local music scene Blitz have made an immediate impact, with a string of singles and very impressive live shows. The band consists of Oliver Poole (rhythm guitar and vocals), Finlay Knobbs (lead guitar and backing vocalist), Donald Jones (bass player and backing vocalist) and Jake Mcminn (drums). They’re an extremely talented bunch of chaps, and I am a real fan of Poole’s vocals.
Their single “Revolution Blues’, released earlier this year, certainly set the bar high for future releases, and after witnessing an incredible LymeLight appearance ,I have been looking forward to the release of their debut EP WW3 ever since.
Released in June, the EP is based upon current world events which the band have been reflecting on, before putting their musical take on it all. The title of the EP came from a news report where Trump was quoted as saying “we are on the verge of WW3”.
The title track itself does very well to sum up the fears that the current teen generation have to live with. Given the age of the band they have really got to grips with their sound, lyrics and arrangements. A great rock song with a real 70s sound to it, in fact something resembling The Ramones meet Slade. As is a common theme throughout the EP, it boasts smart backing vocals and good arrangement.
Kicking off the EP, the excellent Revolution Blues really shows off Poole’s vocal, very reminiscent of Lennon’s vocal on his solo work. The song was written to talk about how the current generation find themselves in a time of restricted creativity due to the continual depleting of creative subjects within the school system.
Loose Your Mind – a song based on being very stressed about the future and what life has in store for you – sees heavy Tom drums pound out the intro over scraped guitar sounds. The song is built around a rock riff that drives the track to the chorus, which is a particular highlight, again demonstrating Blitz’s ability to write a really catchy tune. Check out those backing vocals.
Next up, Killing Time is a song Poole’s dad wrote over 20 years ago, and was added to pay tribute to his role in the growth of his son as a musician. The song drips in its Lennonesque sound, the distorted vocals, thumping bass line puts you in mind of Helter Skelter (that the band play live) or “Everyone’s got something to hide”
Initially an effort to make a blues song, Smiling Assassin ultimately came out quite heavy and powerful. You can hear the blues influence in there but it is more of a stomp along track with an almost metal sounding end. This song really does give me a Slade vibe. Lyrically the record is about how a smile does not particularly connotate positivity.
Closing number Gone Are The Soldiers took inspiration from a book title of the same name which documents how men are sent to war. It’s a slower tempo than the rest of the tracks on the EP, it’s very epic in into structure, building to a nice guitar solo from Knobbs at the end. You can really feel the passion in the vocals, extremely heartfelt. They stated Oasis as one of their influences and this does have the feel of Champagne Supernova from their classic What’s The Story (Morning Glory)?
Blitz have truly arrived and set themselves up as one of the exciting new bands that have emerged this year. They are proper rock n roll, if someone had told me this EP was from the 70s I would have accepted that as fact. The structure of the songs are honest to their influences, the band play well and are really tight in their delivery. The vocals throughout are simply great both in delivery and production. I do think that the best is yet still to come from these lads and I hope they can navigate the tricky university years, but this is as good a start as you can get. I would do all you can to go and see this band live.
