L - The Apeshit Blues

L

The Apeshit Blues
self-released; 2016

3.8 out of 5

By Ted Rogen
​

L is an artist originally from Australia now living in Brooklyn. Some of the songs on his album Apeshit Blues were written over ten years ago and some just recently. Apeshit Blues is a staggering sixteen songs with no filler and could easily fit into a double album. 

With titles such as “Assman,” “Buck-Naked Boogie,” “Sugar Daddy,” “Temptation” and “Ladies Man” this album is sexually charged. L said himself that the“album is one of a dirty blues sex theme”. As far as the music and production goes it’s top notch. This is an album that got the tone and textures right. It sounds like an old school blues. Not overly produced but couldn’t be considered lo-fi either.

Perhaps the most unique thing about this album is the vocal delivery. L has a dynamic, versatile singing style. At times I was reminded of some alternate version of Tom Waits. There are a lot of songs on here, so I’ll mention some of the highlights. “Stormcrow” stuck out to me right away. The song makes good use of space. Guitar chords ring out while L fills the air with his unique singing style. It’s a catchy song and rocks out in its own way.

Another highlight was “Step Back” which gets pretty experimental in a good way. Right around the two-minute mark L makes interesting use of feedback. Besides that the song just rocks and I throughly enjoyed some of those screeching guitar leads. The other songs that jumped out to me were “Loverboy Blues” and “Buck-Naked Boogie.”

​Come to think of it there weren’t any duds out of the sixteen songs. I left Apeshit Blues with the impression that L managed to carve out a unique, niche sound for himself. Something that is increasingly hard this day and age. Two thumbs up.

Tweet