Blue Violet? Scarlet vermillion? Yellow amber? Verdant green? All the spectrum of emotions and myriad hues of life as we know it, or may not know it, are present and correct on elemental, engrossing and simply superior album Late Night Calls. Sarah Gotley’s sweet lipstick, coffee and red wine voice commands attention and the bass particularly drives the whole project forward, right from first track White Beaches, a swoony, Cocteau Twins-meets-Portishead sonic landscape and something of an ecological call to arms.
Next up, Undercover rocks out, with a fine fuzzy guitar solo. Like an early Elbow song, or even The Doors, and I would not say that lightly. Whatever happened to lyrics you can hear, and words that make sense? Blue Violet seem to be big fans of that “weird” concept (husband and wife Sam and Sarah, fine storytellers, formerly led Broken Bones Matilda). Rabbit Hole deals with addiction and is a power ballad of considerable class. Asylum (mental health issues) confirms the top, top songwriting quality that is already apparent as Sam’s voice comes in strongly and changes the landscape – another POV, another sound, another world, another nice solo. Like Psychedelic Furs meet Siouxsie meets Jefferson Airplane (the rabbit from earlier made me think of that). Asylum, a brilliant epic (“They call me mad, I bet you know the feeling too …”).
Track Five, Suffer, yearns as it burns, beautifully played, Sarah on top form, strings introduced with perfect, perfect timing. And so it goes, and goes, all adding up to an irresistible, sensual surrounding to fall ass backwards into, not a care in the world except for the world itself, and all we care about. Poster Girl is another winner, retro revolutionary – I would wave a flag with “Poster Girl” on it, or at least wear the T-shirt. Is there merch? You tell me.
Hard Rain boasts an Angelo Badalamenti, Twin Peaks, off-kilter vibe. A superb drum track, and Sam’s back on the mike. Mama will rip your heart out, and then it’s almost over. Is April too early to talk about Album Of The Year?! I did once in February, but that was Mastodon, so fair play. The dreamlike, imaginative Halo wears its passionate heart on its lace and linen sleeve – an achingly wonderful song building to a spectacular big-strings outro (“Take my halo … I don’t need it any more!”). What a voice, what a song, what an album. Nicole Atkins? Iris DeMent, come back to me. The closing track, the primal, stripped back but proudly polished Vanished In The Night, is in many ways a summation of all that has gone before but still more than capable of taking its very own special stride forward into the spotlight.
This album reviewing lark can be tricky, trying to find the right genre, nail the moment, fit the pigeonhole. Then along comes the classic sound of the more-or-less timeless Blue Violet, and none of that seems to matter quite so much. Late Night Calls is a new, exciting, consistent all-round achievement. The arrangements, the strategic peaks and troughs, the instrumentation and production chops (Rob Ellis, take a bow) help lift the music up, up, up somewhere into the blue. If I’m wrong, shoot me – feel free, I’ve heard it all now.
Late Night Calls, by Blue Violet, is out now, on Me & My Records