Moose Blood - Blush (Album Review)

UK's Moose Blood have been building up quite a group of die hard supporters. Their album I'll Keep You In Mind, From Time To Time had some sounds of those mid-2000s emo/punk albums while mixing in the bands own flair on top of it that freshened the sound and appealed to more than it had in recent years for a lot of bands trying similar things. When the band announced a move from No Sleep Records to indie giant Hopeless one could only assume that big things would be on the horizon so I was pretty hyped for this album when Blush was announced and the first single dropped. The band also dropped the first single about three months before the release so the conversation has been going on for a while with this one and the anticipation has been building.

Blush is stomping on the similar ground of I'll Keep You In Mind... but the band added a ton more pop appeal not only in the songs but also in the production style. Where I'll Keep You In Mind... felt, at times, like a tip of the hat to Brand New's Deja Entendu, Blush tips the hat more in the direction of Taking Back Sunday's album Where You Want To Be in terms of the poppier production style and song writing style. I think that this will help broaden their appeal to a larger audience. I also think there is a really good chance they will find that audience with these songs and Hopeless backing them.

"Cheek" is a perfect example of how the songs sound like the best Taking Back Sunday songs that TBS didn't write. The flair and showmanship in the vocals is impressive and could give Adam Lazzara a run for his money. "Pastel" is the first song on the album and it's a good introduction to the album. It pretty much showcases the sound and vibe for the most part of this album. I really like the song. Lyrically, it's strong and it's mostly upbeat. "Sway" has some really neat, almost 80s post/punk sounding guitar parts throughout the song and I really like them. It's one of the big standout musical moments on the album that really caught my ear. "Shimmer" starts off with some great acoustic strumming and vocals. It then evolves into some high distorted guitars through the middle to the near end of the song. They guitar parts create a really good vibe before the song finishes out circling back on an acoustic note.

The great thing about almost everything on this album, musically and vocally, is that nothing ever falls flat. It's solid all the way around, musically. Eddy Brewerton kills the vocals. He has nice control of his voice on this album and I think he's improved some from the previous album. Towards the end of the album you will find a couple more songs like "Shimmer" and "Spring" that will really appeal to fans of the band's previous album. They definitely feel more quaint. It ends on a heavy note with "Freckle" that has a poppy, but aggressive sounding guitar riff kicking off the song and going throughout which really adds a lot of energy to the end of the album.

While this album may sound bigger, poppier, like it is reaching out for a larger audience, which gives it less of that quaint feeling that I'll Keep You In Mind... has it doesn't negate the fact that this album is pretty much fantastic from start to finish, for the style and genre. Yeah, they don't push the band forward much style wise. There are some differences here and there lyrically and musically, but nothing to drastic. Still it feels like this might be a big moment for Moose Blood and I think fans are going to really enjoy this album. I know I do and I would recommend this album. I'm liking this a lot right out the gate, and at this point I feel like it has some pretty solid potential to grow on me more with time.