Singles

Ice Black Birds - Ears To The Ground

Richard Wink 23/03/2010

Rating: 2.5/5

It appears that Huw Stephens will not say a bad word about anybody. On almost every blurb I read it contains a positive blurb from the Radio One DJ. He seems to like everything. This therefore makes his opinion fallible, his statements seem incorrect. Mr Welsh DJ, I expected you to offer an expert opinion, I expected to agree with you. Unfortunately in the case of your endorsement of Ice Black Birds I can't.

Ice Black Birds play a vintage form of blues rock, harking back to the days of The Yardbirds and The Stones. 'Ears to the Ground' could conceivably be from an old vinyl record that was found stashed away in a derelict recoding studio that dates back to the sixties. It struts along, with vocalist Sam Denniston offering a confident bark. Contrast this to B-side 'Heavy Independent Blues,' a pseudo-ballad that gathers momentum, and then winds down again, gently swaying to a satisfying finish.

As for the verdict, Ice Black Birds are fine musicians, but they shouldn't be releasing this material. It's irrelevant. It's like Lance Armstrong attempting to ride a Penny Farthing in the next Tour De France. Time has moved on, music has moved on. If you want to re-hash old rhythm and blues then look at the bands that have made a good fist of resurrecting the past, for instance The White Stripes, and the Black Keys. Ice Black Birds need to breathe some air from their own lungs into the old bluesman's corpse.

Release Date: 29/03/2010