Review: The Bloody Nerve – ‘All Blood, No Treasure, Act I: Retrograde’

Rather than go down the traditional route of releasing a 10-12 track, 45-minute long album, Nashville duo The Bloody Nerve have chosen to release their latest music in four separate acts, with each act acting as both a standalone release and a part of a full-length album to come at a later date. Until then, The Bloody Nerve – Stacey Blood and Laurie Ann Layne – will release each act on CD and to streaming sites, with the first act available now to devour, and hopefully, you brought your appetite with you as there is a lot to feast on during the three tracks that makeup ‘Act I: Retrograde’.

Episode 1. ‘A Million Arms’ introduces The Bloody Nerve to anyone who might have stumbled across the band after the pair won Classic Rock Magazine ‘Track Of The Week’ a few weeks back. A lengthy scream (kinda ‘Welcome To The Jungle’-ish that turns feral at the last note) from Laurie Ann Layne opens the track, and immediately it grabs the listener’s attention. Layne is sometimes compared to arguably one of the top three rock vocalists of all time, Ann Wilson – a tad surprising simply because Ann doesn’t really have a gritty side to her vocals, while Layne does, in spades – but people need comparisons for comparison’s sake, so keeping with that notion, perhaps comparisons with Rob Tyner of proto-punk icons MC5 would be more on the money? Like Tyner, Layne has a heady mix of raw and unpolished, but hugely soulful vocals capable of dropping a charging rhino at 50 paces. When she ends her scream during ‘A Million Arms’ the biggest surprise is that she doesn’t proclaim that “…it’s time to kick out the jams motherfuckers…”. The incendiary guitar work from Stacey Blood is dazzling, and constantly changes styles and tone throughout, with heaps of uber-cool licks thrown in alongside some big-ass fuzzy chords, and that bluesy shuffling solo on 02:33 minutes, oh my, that is damn special. Hang around for more cool licks that follow on during this boot-stomping, badass bastard of a track. Play it loud though, it truly excels the louder it gets.

In places Episode 2. ‘What’s It Say (About You)’ packs a bit of a Nirvana-vibe to Blood’s guitars, and the rule book goes out the window on this one as just as you are expecting the track to zig, it zags. The co-vocals between Blood and Layne are the main selling point on this beauty as both offer up something different from each other; varying textures and tastes are thrown into the melting pot and the end result is a stunning mix of classic rock & roll riffage and howling-at-the-moon vocals. As touched on earlier, Episode 3. ‘Roads’ won the as-voted-for-by-the-people ‘Track Of The Week’ over at Classic Rock Magazine and that offers up some hope for the future of rock & roll. The Bloody Nerve doesn’t have the largest following on social media, therefore they don’t have an army of fans to mobilize in the same way as some of the acts that they were up against, but with ‘Roads’ they do have something special, and very, very fresh. The melodies and hooks are delicious and it is easy to see why it won against stalwarts like Joe Bonamassa and Melissa Etheridge, as it is really good fun, and easy to sing along to after only a few spins.

There are plenty of important themes and messages behind the three tracks that make up ‘Act I’, but how many times have you encountered a release that is laden with important messages, only to have the music included within let the team down? No such issues with The Bloody Nerve as the music on offer simply leaves the listener searching for a release date for ‘Act II’.

Available now, more information, here.

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