The blues never grows old: it taps into something primitive deep in the human psyche, and however hard some rock acts try to move beyond the blues, it’s still there, in the loam beneath their shiny progressive exteriors. Modern rock can pretty much all be traced back to Led Zeppelin, but fundamentally, Led Zep were a blues band with the amps turned up. In other words, the blues represents the origins of rock ‘n’ roll, and when well executed, you still can’t beat the blues.
The Picturebooks are a blues duo. They have just two instruments: drums and guitar. They play hard and loud. Stonking riffs propelled my immense, powerhouse drumming is the foundation and the absolute sum of what they do. It’s simple but effective: the rawness of the execution of their primitive roars is precisely what makes ‘Imaginary Horse’ such a strong album. There’s no pretence or pissing about here: just big, ugly blues rock cranked up to 11 and played with guts and gusto. You just can’t fault it.
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The Picturebooks Online
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