Much of the album sounds like a long-lost, nearly forgotten, ’70’s style recording with a crisp modern twist.
The Black Ink cite influences from The Kinks, The Small Faces, Robert Johnson, Terry Reid and David Bowie through to Tori Amos, Beck, Shakey Graves, Kelly Joe Phelps and Darkside. They have provided 3 tracks (‘Tangerine’, ‘Dirty Dog’ and ‘Sweetness’) for the soundtrack of the British indie comedy ‘Almost Married’ by debut director Ben Cookson. The film features Emily Atack (The Inbetweeners) and Philip McGinley (Game of Thrones, Prometheus).
The band, made up of Nik Ledgard (Vocals, Guitar), Matthew Lintott (Vocals, Guitar), Mark Thorne (Guitar), Dave Wademan (Bass) and Pete Bembridge (Drums & Percussion), recorded their album, “Moth Eaten Rooms”, at Morcheeba’s London Studio.
This is an incredible pop album influenced by hard core indie sentiment, 70s rock experimentation, and just great heart-felt songwriting. “Moth Eaten Rooms” is so dense, so immediate, so seemingly direct that I had to go back and re-evaluate all of my attitudes. It is so across the board, you truly can’t pin it down to a certain group of people’s tastes.
Much of the album sounds like a long-lost, nearly forgotten, ’70’s style recording with a crisp modern twist. If “Moth Eaten Rooms” was playing at a patio party, the melodies and beats might make you think you were listening to a digitalized version, of a cross between the Yardbyrds and the Small Faces. However, when you start to examine the lyrical content, you realize that this album is not what it appears on the surface and the arrangements are a quite a little more complex than you first imagined.
It seems that Nik Ledgard and Matthew Lintott are not only naturally gifted songwriters, but are additionally devoted to pop music history. The two seem to be intent on creating a collection of songs that could easily stand alongside their strongest influences, like for example The Kinks or The Small Faces. But if you’re thinking that they deliver a rehash of the already exploited and beaten to death retro-pop sound, think again!
The Black Ink has songs with depth, and though staying true to its aural influences, moves ahead into a sound which forges a lush combination of ear-catching octave harmonies and falsetto’s over a plethora of tempo-changing rhythms. Listen to standout tracks like “Somebody Call My Name”, “Only You”, “Lucy”, “Tangerine”, “Letters To A Broken Man”, “Rushing” and “Goodbye”.
All-round this album is a keeper, one that will endure through many musical trends and changes in the up-and-coming years. Pop can often be the most transcendent genre of all – the Beatles being a prime example of this – so it’s great to see bands like The Black Ink stretching out and trying to push the envelope. “Moth Eaten Rooms” shows just how much musical genius is contained within this band. Don’t miss out!
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