Blair Jollands - 7 Blood

It comes as no surprise to learn that Blair Jollands has composed soundtracks for television and film. The New Zealand-born but for the last twenty years London-based singer-songwriter plays guitar, sitar, piano, trumpet and harmonica on his third album ‘7 Blood’, and it involves fifteen other musicians including backing vocalists, guitarists, organists, saxophonists and violinists. Jollands has drawn frequent comparisons with Nick Cave, and like Cave he has a flair for the lavish and the same preoccupations with redemption, sin and Biblical imagery. “All that we embrace is not enough to save us,” he sings on the sultry, brass-laden ‘Not Enough’, and ‘Jesus died on a Friday/Oh, lower your head” on the stomping and rustic ‘Revelations’. Yet, while Cave is often discordant, Jollands is more pop-oriented, combining this with elements of soul jazz, country and rock. Occasionally, such as on crooning ballad ‘I’ll Remember You’, he packs too much into a tune so that it simply ends up sounding anonymous. When he is on form, however -and mostly he is - then he is excellent. The funk-driven title track kick starts ‘7 Blood’ off to a strident start. About the herbal medicine that helped Jollands recover from Lyme’s Disease, it throws in grinding guitars, orchestrated synths and thunderous vocals. The swooning stand-out track ‘Black Diamond’ is a jazz-tinged anthem with a surprising stop-start ending, while ‘Restless Soul’, which pushes both a rising piano and slithering harmonica to the fore and upon which Jollands pays tribute to his own wandering spirit, brings ‘7 Blood’ to a convincing and powerful close. ‘7 Blood’ is a very impressive record from an eclectic and major talent.

Track Listing:-

1 7 Blood
2 I'll Remember You
3 Not Enough
4 Burning Man
5 Black Diamond
6 Mojacar Moon
7 Revelations
8 I Will Carry You
9 Drifting Song
10 Restless Soul