Brilliant
“Word Of Mouth” kick starts with “Bad Day”- a fast, fuelled and raw opener. This track will have you head banging within minutes. Rock’n Roll is here in all its brash melodies, with Spendlove’s Lennon like vocals, Townsend’s choppy licks and a tight bass line from Smith and Brown’s clear drum work. Before you have time to think, you are thrown into “Stupid Ones”, with vocals still displaying The Beatle’s influence, The Blueskins skim along like a stone catapulted over a lake.
They take a further turn into the Blues with “Change My Mind”- if you have heard Led Zeppelin’s “Travelling Riverside Blues”, you will detect some similarity, only faster. With constant changes on Spendelove’s and Townsend’s part, this is a brilliant track to throw yourself around too. Much of the same can be said for “My Love Is Law”. Fast, good, with a strong beat, it’s brimming with energy from the hot, choppy licks, to the tight bass.
“Girl” on the other hand, is so different; the only thing tying it to The Blueskins is the vocals. The combination of the levels of these, bass and guitars works so well here- each is distinctive, yet blends better than eggs and milk. “Ellie Meadows” is the same- full of mixes and divisions, but still a great one to sing along to.
“Love Boat” is like listening to a gypsy tribute! It’s a bizarre mix that’s so weird it actually works. This track really signals a definite change in the direction- a strange direction as it slows to a hard kind of early Pink Floyd. And the constant changes in “Go” will keep you on your toes as it twists and turns from bluesy solos to hard and fast drumming.
After finishing on such a high, they blast on into “Tell Me I’m Someone”. Ryan’s vocals retain their originality and everything else changes around them to a heavier and harder sound. This is a great number.
“Take Me Home” begins very slowly then it throws you into a violent blast of sound. This track is full of ups and downs- there are hard Led Zeppelin like parts, yet there are points were it calms down. Then it’s up again as the chorus pulls you with it: and down again as it transcends the ages into a mist of King Crimson.
Then, as if you are coming to the end of an eye-opening trip ( bus journey, of course), “Magpie Blues” takes you back full circle in a brilliant mash of noisy blues, upbeat rock and driving vocals- a brilliant end to a brilliant album.