A couple weeks back, I saw Ian Blurton’s Future Now open for Spirit Adrift, during which he remarked that next to the other bands on the bill, his “sounds like some Carpenters shit.” And yet, I would say that they played enough heavy grooves to keep a decent chunk of the crowd satisfied.
To my knowledge, their entire set was culled from Signals Through the Flames, Blurton’s recently released solo effort. As opposed to the more CANCON radio-friendly retro rock of C’mon or his early contributions to Bionic, this album serves up more psychedelic sounds that would appeal to the underground.
The album kicks off with “Eye of the Needle,” a five-minute number that takes a meandering, jangly intro a la Tea Party into a Beatles-meets-Melvins verse through to a driving, heavy-rockin’ chorus. “Seven Bells” opens with a slithering, serpentine riff before settling into a melodic chug akin to Uncle Acid, complete with an evil-sounding chorus. “Days Will Remain” pays homage to Thin Lizzy with its melodic, dual-guitar attack, while “The March of Mars” reminds me more of trad-metal revivalists Haunt with its chugging, soaring chorus.
“Nothing Left to Lose” delivers a decent 70’s style riff alongside an Alice Cooper sneer, while “ICQ” will rock you like a hurricane with its chunky power chords and keyboards. But dude, you named a song after a late-90’s instant messenger service???
https://ianblurton.bandcamp.com/album/signals-through-the-flames
(Pajama Party)
