Blues music is a genre that has persevered over the years, being a genre that has never really declined in popularity. The influence of the genre can be heard within many other styles of music, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to have a listen to some of the stars within the underground blues scene, bringing them to the attention of our audience.
Review by Jane Howkins
Picture by The Winding Wheels
The Winding Wheels – Thoughts And Prayers
Thoughts And Prayers is the first song on my list, with the track being created by rock band The Winding Wheels. The guitar melodies have that classic groovy blues sound to them, giving the music a catchy feel. The chorus also sounds very anthemic, having a singalong quality to it. These guys are clearly destined for big things – make sure you check out the song in our playlist!
Social media: Facebook, Soundcloud.
100 Watt Shine – The Devil You Don’t Know
We’ve actually featured 100 Watt Shine here before, but their sound is that good, that I wanted to feature them again here! The Devil You Don’t Know is the title of their latest release, kicking off with a cool guitar melody that also acts as the rhythm of the song. The vocals have a very soulful quality to them – whilst it’s quite a mellow song, the electric guitar melodies that emerge later on have a bluesy quality to them.
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Chucky Trading Co – Margarita
Chucky Trading Co bring an Americana/folk sound to the blues genre on Margarita, a song that has an interesting, almost Latin style rhythm to it, making it sound very upbeat. The mix of different styles here makes the music seen very innovative, making you want to dance along in time to the track. The little guitar melodies in the background add most of the bluesy feeling, with the minimalist guitar style adding a certain something to it.
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Church Mice – Batchawana
Batchawana is one of the heavier songs on this list, mixing together moments of hard rock, southern rock and the blues. The song also has some brass instrumentation, making it sound quite different to a lot of the other songs on this list. The chorus breaks things down a little, before the verses bring the pace up again, with the guitars and brass instruments making you want to dance along instantly!
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Spyderhuff – Lazy Soul
Spyderhuff are another band that we’ve featured here before, but in a round-up review of country artists. Whilst the band do have moments of country in their music, Lazy Soul has a very definitive blues sound to it, as displayed in the song below. The harmonica and bass melody on the verses makes it sound very cool, when mixed with the interesting vocal style and guitar melodies. If you didn’t check them out last time around, make sure you give Spyderhuff a listen now!
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Josh Cleveland – Home
Home is a track by Josh Cleveland, a singer-songwriter and musician whose music is probably more along the Americana/country/folk lines, but there are still bluesy moments in there. It’s a gorgeous piece of music with a real sense of storytelling within the lyrics – Josh has a great voice, with the vocal harmonies he creates sounding stunning with his acoustic guitar melodies.
Social media: Website, Facebook, Spotify, Youtube.
Intercontinen7al – Puerto Aisen
Intercontinen7al is an intriguing collaborative effort started by 22 musicians using Bandlab during the coronavirus pandemic – Puerto Aisen is one of their releases, and it sounds amazing, especially considering the inception of the song! It’s a dreamy sounding track, featuring soulful vocals and some interesting percussion – the guitar melodies in the background are subtly done, but they work really well with the music.
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Anton Commissaris – Living My Life
On first listen, Living My Life sounds more like a classic jazz song, with the piano and slow rhythm moving smoothly underneath Anton Commissaris’ crooning vocals. However, there are bluesy elements in there if you listen closely enough – the little guitar melodies in the background mix well with the brass instrumentation, making it all sound very cool. It’s wonderful to hear this sort of music being performed again in the modern era!
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20 Year Short Break – Bad Tattoo
Bad Tattoo starts off slowly with a western feel, before erupting into a huge explosion of sound, making the music seem very anthemic, especially due to the amazing vocal harmonies – just try and listen to it without wanting to sing along! The dynamic changes that 20 Year Short Break include within their music were one of my favourite things about this song, alongside the incredibly catchy chorus.
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Alex Spinney – Boodiyayay
The curiously titled Boodiyayay a new song from Alex Spinney, with the music itself sounding just as unique as the title of the track. It’s quite jazzy in parts, with an intriguing rhythm coming from the waltzy piano melody and clapping percussion running throughout. The music picks up a little as it continues, but the sparse instrumentation allows Alex’s vocals to really soar.
Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, Instagram, Tiktok.
Rose Thorn – Tigerwoman
Rose Thorn has an amazingly soulful voice, which is immediately apparent on first listen of Tigerwoman. The track has an interesting rhythm to it, with the percussion style making it sound very diverse. The piano provides the main melody here, overlapping with the percussion and Rose’s beautiful vocals to make something that sounds both soulful and bluesy, all at the same time.
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The Confederation – Razor Teeth
I’ve actually featured The Confederation here before, but upon hearing new song Razor Teeth, I just knew it was right for this list! The guitar melodies are really bluesy, having a proper groovy sound to them. The track has an old school rock and roll/R&B sound to it, with the rhythm and organ combining with the soulful vocals and guitar melodies to make something that sounds truly amazing.
Social media: Website, Facebook, Spotify, Soundcloud.
Slooga – Music On My Mind
Slooga are an intense blues rock band from Australia, with Music On My Mind being their latest track to be released. The harmonica sounds immense when mixed with the rest of the music – the guitar riffs and rhythm are heavy, but also have a certain groove to them. The chorus itself is rather catchy, with the title acting as the main refrain for the singalong chorus.
Social media: Website, Facebook, Spotify, Youtube, Instagram.
Aly Berry – Wrapped In Black
Wrapped In Black is a new song from singer-songwriter and musician Aly Berry, having a classic R&B & Motown sound to it. Her vocals have a jazzy quality, with the slow rhythm of the song giving the music an old school cool. The guitar melodies and organ sound epic when mixed with the vocal style, with a real sense of emotion present in the vocals and lyrics.
Social media: Twitter, Spotify, Instagram.
Mike Snodgrass – It Wasn’t Me, It Was You
Mike Snodgrass is an American musician with a longstanding talent for music and singing – It Wasn’t Me, It Was You is largely a country/folk song, but it does have some blues rock moments to it. Mike’s vocals have a wonderfully raw quality, with a fantastic range. The brass instruments that appear on the chorus give the music an extra twist – just listen to the track and see if it doesn’t have you wanting to dance along in time!
Social media: Website, Facebook, Spotify, Bandcamp, Youtube, Instagram.