Spread the Social Love:

Review: Gary Clark Jr. - Blak & Blu [Album]

Warner Bros Records // "Kicks a fresh beat into the ailing heart of rock & roll"

by BenG_Writes, October 10th, 2012 and has been Read 2272 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire October 10th, 2012.

Blak & Blu, the debut full album from Texas born guitar slinger Gary Clark Jr, puts the kick back into international rock music, a kick that's been missing ever since David Bowie and Mick Jagger sold their souls for the money.

Obvious comparisons to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn don't do either artist justice, but there is an undeniably Jimi Hendrix like flair to Gary Clark Jr.'s guitar work; precise, intricate, but seemingly erratic and even blind reckless. It's difficult not to compare Blak & Blu to Are You Experienced? in terms of debut confidence. "Things Are Changin'" emanates the skilled confidence that Blak & Blu is all about, while "Please Come Home" gives the perfect platform to showcase Gary Clark Jr.'s exceptional voice, as smooth as the vintage doo-wop themed backing song .

"Next Door Neighbour Blues" is a toe-tapping (excuse the cliche) acoustic number with all the swaggering blues groove of Robert Johnson or Leadbelly. "When My Train Pulls In" sounds like an oft used blues metaphor, and at its heart it travels the same road as all those train metaphors before it, but in Gary Clark Jr.'s hands the idea sounds fresh and simmering with restrained manic energy.

WATCH // Gary Clark Jr. - Bright Lights

But it's not all screeching acts of fret-based digit-dexterity, the tunes are mainstream caliber catchy. Smooth R'n'B track "The Life" flawlessly fuses Otis Redding sixties soul with contemporary Rock n Roll, while "Travis County" is addictive enough to warrant dancefloor play, an accolade rarely reserved for rock music in contemporary Britain.

Blak & Blu openly embraces its diverse elements, maneuvering from hip-hop to eighties R'n'B to jazz, but mostly Gary Clark Jr. delights us in playing ear bending rock & roll with a raw edge that's been missing from near every rock band of the past two decades (with a few exceptions, cough cough The Black Keys). You get the feeling that Gary Clark Jr. could be an artist with that oomph that helped create proper legends back in the day, providing that is that Gary Clark Jr. can abstain from all-day Twitter sessions!

WATCH // Gary Clark Jr. - When My Train Comes In Live

It's not surprising Gary Clark Jr. has already performed for the Obama's alongside B.B. King, Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy, but Blak & Blu lets Gary Clark Jr. expose the full spectrum of influences that shaped him into this 21st Century icon in waiting.

"You're gonna know my name" he sings on the newly remastered title track from his Bright Lights EP, and listening to Blak & Blu, you know that he's right.

Blak & Blu is out October 22nd on Warner Bros Records.

To find out more visit his Facebook here.