Blackbud: “Heartbeat”
Oh, fuck, another awesome song called “Heartbeat(s)” to keep track of? Yeah, that was my initial reaction as well, but trust me, this one’s worth keeping track of. While Blackbud’s debut single, “Heartbeat”, isn’t quite of the elite class that it’s similarly-named predecessors (brought to us in previous years by The Knife, Annie and Jose Gonzalez), it’s an extremely exciting rock track on par with and vocally reminescent of the best of Muse’s recent output. A refreshing change of pace from the dark, brooding Joy Division-inspired guitar work that’s so trendy (and played out) these days, Blackbud bring to the table an unabridled rock intensity built on relentless, serrated guitar riffs and vocalist Joe Taylor’s ominous vocals.
An initial reaction to the emotive balladry of the song’s opening verses will yield understandable comparisons to reviled soft-rock Britpop acts like Keane and Embrace, but Blackbud manage to refine the soft-loud-soft technique to absolute perfection here, bringing a surprisingly raw intensity to the track that’s typically absent in the often-vanilla singles of their aforementioned contemporaries. Taylor’s uninspired lyrics about holding hands in the pouring rain and kisses in the morning light (seriously) initially lend the song a definite guilty pleasure feel, but that’s immediately shaken once the Matthew Bellamy-esque “you know much more than I do” pre-chorus gives way to the driving power chords of the chorus. The “loud” in the soft/loud/soft equation, that massive chorus hits hard twice before the song goes out guns ablazing, as the rollicking, unforgiving guitars of the chorus are drawn out over the course of one final, powerful bridge, leaving you breathless and wanting more.
MP3: “Heartbeat” (Single Version) - Blackbud ((highly recommended))
Unfortunately, my want for more led me to investigate the band’s debut album, which came out this past July. I say unfortunately because rather than being more of the same extravagant rocking I’d come to expect from the band after playing the shit out of “Heartbeat” for weeks, I was left with an album of watered-down and highly forgettable throwaways. I mean, my expectations weren’t unreasonable - “Heartbeat” really is an incredibly exciting debut single and the group did win the Glastonbury Festival’s unsigned band competition two years ago (their co-champion? The Subways), but From The Sky, as the LP’s titled is nothing more than a dissappointing, plodding mess. To make matter’s even worse, “Heartbeat” has fallen victim to absolutely egregious production here, as the reproduced version of the song is stripped of the original’s raw emotion and intensity by lifeless, glossed-over production. Good god, the humanity:
MP3: “Heartbeat” (Album Version) - Blackbud ((why? WHY?!))
Often times re-production can do wonders for a band’s early, pre-LP singles (see: Bloc Party meets Paul Epworth), but in this case I just don’t understand how no one was able to realize the unholy injustice being done to the brilliance of the original. Seriously, it’s just tragic. Below is the closest thing From The Sky has to a saving grace, the album’s lead single “Barefoot Dancing”.
MP3: “Barefoot Dancing” - Blackbud