Search - May Blitz :: May Blitz

Decent bluesy/progressive hard rock

Elliot Knapp | Seattle, Washington United States | 04/10/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"May Blitz's self-titled first album is a mix of blues-influenced riffs (not usually straight blues structures) extended with some proggy time signature changes and some pretty wicked guitar solos. I've heard them compared to Cream on more than one occasion, but after a few listens I don't think that comparison is very useful other than as a very basic starting point--they're both bluesy British power trios, but beyond that it's not really that meaningful of a comparison. If you like Cream, though, and bands like Wishbone Ash (especially their earlier stuff), this might be a logical band for you to check out.



The album's opener, "Smoking the Day Away" is probably the strongest track of the lot, with a muscular descending guitar line that sets a pretty edgy mood. The chorus is pretty psychedelic with a pretty trippy vocal arrangement. The middle of the song is a pretty sweet solo break, with some fiery 12-string acoustic shredding that rocks just as hard as any electric solo could. By the time the main riff reappears, you'll probably be nodding your head like "yeeeaaah." The band shows their hand pretty early on, though; the vocals are a bit weak and bland, and the fact that they're pretty far back in the mix doesn't help much either. Also, the lyrics can tend to be somewhat lacking--the first song's pretty literally about getting stoned in the forest and enjoying it, which isn't exactly the deepest subject matter to wrap your head around as a listener. Luckily, the band's instrumental workouts generally make up for their relative weakness on the vocal end.



"I Don't Know" is a pretty rocking argument for country life with better-constructed lyrics. "Dreaming" comes up with some of the trippiest atmospheres on the album, with more crazy 12-string playing and some scary vocalizing. It's kind of aimless and loosely-arranged, though, which obscures whatever point they were trying to make (if there was one). "Squeet" treads more into funk territory, with a sweet clean funky guitar riff. The title and lyrics are so lame, though ("squeet all over the wall?" that sounds pretty gross), that it's hard for me to listen to them--the music rocks pretty hard though. "Tomorrow May Come" is a pretty good change of pace, building a dark, moody atmosphere. "Fire Queen" kicks it back into overdrive with pounding drums and absolutely manic guitar vamping and solo shredding--this one's a musical highlight of the album. "Virgin Waters" closes the album with another building atmosphere, starting with wave sound effects and whispered vocals, crescendoing into pounding drums and some more shredding.



Overall, May Blitz's debut rocks pretty hard and will probably satisfy fans of bluesy early 70's rock, although most of the songs are mid- to slow-tempo and are all of a similar mood. It doesn't really stand out a whole lot from the rest of the pack, and if lyrics and vocals are important to you, then you probably won't be impressed in that department here. I'm still deciding whether to check out their second album, The 2nd of May, but it's not super high on my list. If you're interested, you could always grab the 2 on 1 of both albums: May Blitz/The 2nd of May. If you're interested in an obscure album (reissued by the same label, Repertoire) that is similarly on the hard, guitar, bluesy rocking end of things, I'd recommend Patto's debut, which is slightly more jazzy, but delivers a bit better when it comes to lyrics, singing, and inventiveness with songwriting/chord progressions."