Album Review: Blue Nation – Echoes EP

Blues rock band Blue Nation have released their E.P ‘Echoes’ The E.P is born out of the ever-long frustration of lock-down. Yet it all came together rather easily.

Vocalist Neil states:

“The song writing for the EP came to us all very quickly, I remember Luke coming up with the riff for ‘I Feel Low’ and ‘Come Back Home’ in one week! ‘Echoes’ fell out of my head one afternoon after I was thinking about a good friend of mine who had passed away. ‘The Reason’ was all of us in our studio working the parts out from something.”

Neil continues:

“The main focus behind the new EP was to take our songs to the next level. We only had one way to do this and that was to work with Trevor Gibson at Circle Recording Studios. Trevor is one of the best in the music industry and my god we were nervous! Trevor has won a Grammy in 2015 created / acted in his film (“Scream For Me Sarajevo”) and to top it all off has done several TEDx event talks! He is also one of the nicest people we have ever met.

Opening track ‘I Feel Low’ introduces any new fans to the slow-burning blues style of Blue Nation along with the smokey vocals. The track rolls along nice and steady but some smoking guitar playing just gets better as the track continues. The loose funk of the verses to the rockier chorus and a blistering outro.

Singer Neil impresses once again on the second track ‘Come Back Home’. Powerful verses mix with the group vocals on the chorus as the guitar once again sizzles away adding to the song just the right amount when needed. The track also features some nifty bass playing. You get a sense of the band being very comfortable with thes tracks and each other and are happy to let the tracks breathe with plenty of space when needed.

A particular highlight is the gorgeously performed ‘Echoes’. A track that just gets better each listen, with its soaring chorus and harmonised vocals on the verse. The drums play a big part to the overall impact of the track as they beat out the bridge and roll through the verses and choruses. A superb track.

The closing track is the acoustic led ‘The Reason’ which starts very much similar to Echoes but it morphs into a slick rock epic with bursts of electric guitar laying down some grunt and another cool vocal performance. The use of dynamics makes it for an interesting listen as it flows from simple acoustic and voice to a full band rocking epic.

A superb collection to showcase the band’s repertoire. The beautiful ‘Echoes’ and the bluesy ‘I Feel Low’ demonstrate real musical talent and the tight knit relationship between the band which shines through on the tracks. It’s and EP you can play over and over again and hear something new each time. Not bad for going for a trio. We can expect big things from these guys.

Check out the bands track Come Back Home, below:

Find out more via the band’s Website or Facebook

Read our interview with the band here