If you want to know where blues is today, then this new one from Crimson Brooks isn’t a bad place to start looking. Okay, blues is a broad spectrum, but if your thing is the electric-driven, forward-facing, and certainly rawer end of the genre, as opposed to the more traditional sounds, then “Passerby” is going to tick a lot of boxes for you.
Starting in the slinky, seductive realms that blues has always excelled at emoting, there is something dark and delicious, almost gothic-infused, about those opening passages. But as the weight is added, as guitars induce a more rock and roll growl to the sensual sonic groove, you realise that this is a song that is happy to blur the lines and hop blues demarcations to explore more explosive territories.
And it is through the movement between the subtle and the incendiary that the song takes shape. This ebb and flow between incredible understatement and the primal scream that echoes out of rock’s heart creates the song’s dynamic, one reminiscent of earlier bands such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and 22-20s. Gritty, garage rock-blues at its best.
Back after a six-year hiatus, this duo, originally from St Petersberg, Russia, proves that they have lost none of the raw energy, excitement, and creativity that made the rock fraternity take notice in the first place.
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